


Too Close for Comfort

by bornforwar_archivist



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Human, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-12-31
Updated: 2006-12-31
Packaged: 2020-03-17 11:11:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 33,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18964081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bornforwar_archivist/pseuds/bornforwar_archivist
Summary: By EchidnaBuffy is a freshman in college. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to sign up for college dorms in time so she has no other choice but to rent an apartment for the duration of the year. Since she doesn't have enough money to rent one all by herself she has to put up with a roommate. Guess who? No, not Spike but the over-cheerful, bubble-gum, pop-princess - Harmony! She's sloppy, she's loud and basically the 'Roommate from Hell'. Just when Buffy thought things couldn't get worse, she brings home her boyfriend - Spike! And guess what? They're LOUD!





	Too Close for Comfort

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Delenn, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [Born For War](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Born_For_War), which closed in 2015. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in March 2016. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Born For War collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/bornforwar).
> 
> Summary: Buffy is a freshman in college. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to sign up for college dorms in time so she has no other choice but to rent an apartment for the duration of the year. Since she doesn't have enough money to rent one all by herself she has to put up with a roommate. Guess who? No, not Spike but the over-cheerful, bubble-gum, pop-princess - Harmony! She's sloppy, she's loud and basically the 'Roommate from Hell'. Just when Buffy thought things couldn't get worse, she brings home her boyfriend - Spike! And guess what? They're LOUD! 
> 
> Rated: NC-17 (as always! Duh!) 
> 
> Spoilers: None, it's an all human fic.

Prologue   
  
“Thanks, people. Make sure you read chapters 1 and 2 for Monday." The short, skinny woman called out as the students filed out of the room.   
  
Buffy let herself sit back on the chair for a couple more seconds before she started packing her things.   
  
“Hey!" A cheerful feminine voice snapped her out of her thoughts.   
  
“Hey." Buffy replied a little less enthusiastically turning to see the redhead standing by the doorway just as the last student left the classroom.   
  
“How was your first day as a freshman?" Willow asked as Buffy came down the steps and joined her on her way out.   
  
“Incomprehensible." The blonde sighed, hugging her books against her chest as the two walked down the crowded hall. “I never thought anyone could say so many words without actually forming a logical sentence. My brain hurts!" She pouted.   
  
“I’m sure it’ll get better." Willow tried to reassure her.   
  
“I really hope so. I don’t think it can get any worse." She sighed. “Are you done for the day?"   
  
“Yep." The redhead replied bringing her hands together for a loud clap.   
  
“You’re very cheery today. What happened?" Buffy questioned with a slight frown.   
  
“It’s just the whole college vibe. I feel so grown-up." She giggled. “Moving into the dorms, living on my own. Well, on my own as in without parental guidance anyway." She corrected. “I can’t wait to meet my roommate. The RA said she’s was going to move in tonight."   
  
“I hope you have better luck than I’ve had." Buffy grumbled and earned a sympathetic smile from her friend. “I can’t believe I forgot to sign up for housing." She growled.   
  
“You had a lot of stuff on your mind. Your mom and all…" Willow reminded her. After a short silence she managed to gather the courage to ask: “How is she doing?"   
  
“She’s ok. She’s scheduled for an MRI today. I’m going with her." Buffy explained.   
  
“An MRI? Do they think she still has the tumour?" Willow asked a bit afraid.   
  
“No. The doctor says it’s usual procedure to check if they really got the whole thing."   
  
“Oh." The redhead sounded relieved.   
  
It had been a very hard summer.   
  
What started as mild headaches had rapidly grown into full-blown migraines. Joyce Summers had tried to ignore them initially, but as the pain became dilacerating she decided to go to the doctor. After a CAT scan and MRI, a small tumour, growing on the right hemisphere of her brain, was identified. From that moment onward everything seemed to snowball around Buffy. Suddenly, her mother was in the hospital being prepared for surgery and she was left alone at home, looking after her younger sister, Dawn.   
  
She still shuddered when she thought of those days. Living in terror, with the threat of losing her mother hanging over her head while she had to look calm and in control in front of her sister had eaten at her from the inside. She had felt a momentary relief when the doctor had told her the surgery had been successful. But, seeing her mother lying on the hospital bed, her head wrapped up in gauze, partially smiling, barely able to speak, was one of the memories she would never forget. That night she had crawled into her bed and cried herself to sleep as she finally let the pent-up fear surface.   
  
The days after the surgery were nerve-racking and distressing as they waited for the histological results. When they finally came the doctor greeted her with a smile:   
  
“Thankfully, the histological analysis revealed that it was a relatively benign tumour and that it has been removed with a considerable safety margin." He had told her.   
  
To Buffy, the words that came from the strange man’s mouth made absolutely no sense. She didn’t really care to understand any of it anyway; she just wanted to know if her mother would be ok. Her confused frown told him that she didn’t understand.  
  
“She’s going to be alright, Miss Summers. It’s going to take a few weeks for your mother to recover, but I’m sure that she’ll have little if any repercussions from the surgery.   
  
From that point onward she stopped hearing what he was saying. She watched blindly as the man in the white coat moved his lips, but she didn’t seem to comprehend any of it - Something about monitoring her mother for six months; she didn’t care. Her mother was going to be alright, that was all she wanted to hear. All her worries had been lifted off her shoulders in an instant and she felt her entire body relax and go instantly numb.   
  
Between worrying over her mother’s health and watching over Dawn she had completely forgotten about signing up for a dorm room. When classes had finally started she had found out it was too late to get one. She had decided to stay at home and simply commute everyday to college but her mother had been absolutely against it. Not only was the campus two hours away, but she also believed that college was about growing up, moving on and learning how to live on your own. As a result, Buffy found herself scanning the paper for apartment rental ads. She had spent the last two weeks looking at everything from fancy, too-expensive-to-afford to sleazy and shady, wouldn’t-live-here-if-they-paid-her apartments. She was growing increasingly frustrated.   
  
“Buffy?" Willow’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts as they entered the coffee shop.   
  
“Huh? Sorry, Willow. What were you saying?" She asked, shaking her head slightly.   
  
“Any luck on the apartment hunt?"   
  
“No." Buffy pouted, taking her seat at the bar. “Yesterday, I thought I’d found one that worked. I was actually going make a deal with the landlord when all of a sudden the police burst in."   
  
“What?!" Willow exclaimed.   
  
“Yep. Turns out that my potential landlord is a peeping Tom." At the redhead’s confused look, she raised her eyebrow and added: “Had a bunch of secret cameras installed all around the house."   
  
Willow let her jaw fall.   
  
“Yeah. You should have seen my face when the cop came out of the bathroom with a tiny camera in his hand."   
  
Buffy rested her elbows on the table and held her head in her hands.   
  
“I *have* to find an apartment soon." She sighed.   
  
“Going hunting today too?"   
  
“Yes."   
  
“Sorry I can’t come with. Gotta be at the dorm to meet my roomie." Willow apologised.   
  
“It’s ok. I have one last hope." Buffy took out a small cut-out as she spoke and handed it to Willow.   
  
“This sounds good. It’s only ten minutes away from here." She noted, handing the piece of newspaper back to her.   
  
“Yeah, but with my luck it’s probably going to be a rat infested dump." Buffy grumbled picking up her backpack. “I better get going. I said I’d go by at four."   
  
“Good luck." Willow wished as she watched her friend walk out of the coffee shop.   
  
“I’m gonna need it." Buffy shouted back.   
  
~+~   
  
She fumbled with the paper between her hands as she walked the small distance. She checked the black ink when she reached her destination.   
  
“Apartment 9A." She read out loud.   
  
She walked up the two front steps and pressed one of the small black buttons.   
  
“Yeah?" A high-pitch voice was heard through the intercom.   
  
“I’m here for the room for rent." Buffy replied.   
  
“Come up."   
  
After a second there was a buzzing sound and the door unlocked. Buffy pushed it open and waited the elevator.   
  
“God, I hope the apartment is ok. Please, let it be ok." She muttered to herself, unconsciously crossing her fingers.   
  
She was actually succeeding in coaxing herself into a positive state of mind as she rang the doorbell. That was until the front door was opened to reveal an overly cheerful blonde on the other side.   
  
“Oh, my God! Buffy?"   
  
“Harmony? What are-“   
  
She wasn’t able to finish her sentence as she found herself suddenly engulfed in a suffocating embrace   
  
Chapter 1   
  
“Um… Harmony…" Buffy coughed a bit, but Harmony seemed to be unaware of her discomfort.   
  
She was close to turning blue when the hysterical bottled-blonde finally let up.   
  
“It’s so good to see a familiar face." She sighed with a smile still over her lips as she added: “Even if it is yours."   
  
Buffy’s eyebrows furrowed immediately.   
  
“Um, thanks. I guess." Buffy muttered.   
  
“I’ve just been so lonely lately." Harmony complained; her eyes growing glassy with tears. “I don’t think I like college. Everything is just so complicated. I don’t understand half of what people are saying. They talk funny." Her face contorting into a disgusted look.   
  
Buffy was left standing at the doorway without a clue as to how to reply to Harmony’s outburst. After a few seconds of uncomfortable silence Harmony took a Kleenex from her pocket and blew her puffy nose.   
  
“What are you doing here?" She asked with a hoarse tone.   
  
“I came about the ad. You know, the room for rent?" She was still dumbfounded by the revelation that Harmony could be her potential roommate. ‘No, not Harmony. Anyone but her…’ She thought to herself.   
  
“Oh, come in." Harmony finally stepped away from the door and let her in.   
  
The apartment wasn’t very big. But it was very well lit. There were two large windows on the left that let the sun filter into the living room. The furniture consisted of a couch with its back turned to the entrance door, an armchair, a coffee table set in front of the sofa and up against the wall was a large cupboard with drawers and various shelves but it only held a TV set. In the corner, between the cabinet and the second window was a small fireplace. ‘It’s California. Why would you need a fireplace?’ Buffy wondered.   
  
On the opposite side of the room, closer to the front door was a kitchenette that was separated from the living room by a counter and three stools. Finally, between the kitchenette and the couch, was a round wooden table with four chairs around it.   
  
“So…" Harmony started as she plopped down on one of the chairs. “You’re going to Sunnydale University too?"   
  
“Yes." Buffy replied still pondering whether or not to accept living with Harmony.   
  
She liked what she saw of the apartment so far. It was clean, it wasn’t too expensive and it was close to campus which was a major plus. She’d get to sleep a few extra minutes, and God knew those extra minutes were crucial at seven o’clock in the morning. On the downside there was the blonde slouching on the chair in front of her, checking her nails instead of showing her the rest of the apartment.   
  
She didn’t know Harmony all that well. They had gone to high school together but they had never gotten along. She was one of Cordelia Chase’s airhead lackeys whose wardrobe consisted mainly of pink and baby-blue outfits. Not really Buffy’s crowd.   
  
“What’s your major?"   
  
Harmony was making small talk? Since when did Harmony Kendall want to speak to her? ‘She must be really lonely.’   
  
“Haven’t decided yet." She replied a bit disconcerted by the whole situation.   
  
“Me neither. I really didn’t want to go to college, but my father said it was important for me as a person." She exhaled sharply as she rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right! Like hanging around with a bunch of geeky losers is going to do any good for my social life." She whinged. “At least the football guys seem cool."   
  
Buffy had met the football crowd - the ‘I-suffered-one-too-many-head-traumas-and-now-I-have-the-IQ-of-an-amoeba’ football crowd.   
  
Buffy looked at her watch. She was going to be late. She’d told her mother that she’d be home early to go with her to the doctor’s. Harmony, however, was completely oblivious to her predicament and seemed intent on getting a free therapy session out of her.   
  
“You see, my mother doesn’t really think that college is that important. I mean, she didn’t even finish high school and look how smart she is!"   
  
Ah, yes! The intensely intellectually challenged Mrs. Kendall! All Buffy could feel for her was pity.   
  
“But my father, he thinks I should expand my horizons – Whatever *that* means - so he rented this apartment for me and-“   
  
“Um, Harmony?" Buffy stepped in and the sitting blonde looked up from her manicured nails. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I’m kinda in a hurry. Could you just show me the rest of the apartment?"   
  
“Oh… Ok." She pouted a bit and stood up, reluctantly heading for the corridor next to the big living room cupboard, opposite the front entrance to the apartment. There were three doors, two on the left and one at the end of the hall. She opened the first one. “This is my room."   
  
Buffy literally had to narrow her eyes as the pink emanating from almost every single object in the room attacked her retinas.   
  
“Isn’t it pretty? My dad talked to the landlord and he said it was ok to paint the walls too as long as we painted it back to white when we left. I’m going to have them painted sometime next week, or something." She explained while Buffy rubbed her sore eyes.   
  
They walked further down until they reached the end of corridor:   
  
“This is the bathroom…"   
  
Buffy barely had time to see the inside of the compartment as Harmony moved back and opened the door they had passed on their way to the bathroom.   
  
“… and this would be your room."   
  
Buffy peeked in. It was perfect. Not too big, not too small and not too furnished. It contained one queen-sized bed in the corner near a large window, a closet on the wall near the door and a desk with a chair to her left against the wall that separated her bedroom from Harmony’s. Buffy was amazed. After all the rooms and apartment she’d searched over the last days this looked like paradise itself. The words were out of her mouth before she could stop herself:   
  
“I’ll take it."   
  
“Great!" Harmony shrieked clapping her hands.   
  
The moment she saw the girl’s reaction she was sure she would regret her decision but, for the time being, she had no other choice.   
  
~+~   
  
“Your roommate is Harmony Kendall?" Willow exclaimed from the other side of the line.   
  
“Yeah." Buffy muttered, running her comb through her hair, looking at herself in the mirror. “That was probably the only setback I could find in the whole thing."   
  
“But it’s one big and loud setback." Willow noted.   
  
“Don’t remind me."   
  
“Well, it’s only for one year. Next year you’ll sign up for the dorms and get rid of Miss Cordelia Chase wannabe."   
  
“I have the feeling this is going to be the longest year of my life." Buffy grumbled. “But you should see the apartment. It’s really perfect. It’s got a fireplace and everything."   
  
“A fireplace? In Sunnydale? What for?" Willow wondered.   
  
“I know. Strange, huh?" She placed the comb on the vanity and walked over to her bed. “Well, it’s the last night I get to sleep in my own bed." Buffy sighed, sliding between the warm sheets.   
  
“You already called Xander?"   
  
“Yep. Ten o’clock tomorrow. Sharp." Stretching a bit she practically purred. “God! I’m so tired. This whole apartment hunting was really stressing. Glad it’s over. What about you? How’s your roomie?"   
  
“She’s pretty cool. Her name is Tara Maclay. Kinda shy, but very sweet. I think we’re gonna get along just fine." Willow explained.   
  
“That’s great." Buffy half yawned.   
  
“Well, I better let you get some sleep. I’ll meet you at the coffee shop at ten thirty."   
  
“See you tomorrow, Wills."   
  
“Night, Buffy."   
  
“Good night."   
  
She pressed the off button on the cell phone and placed it on her nightstand.   
  
~+~   
  
Buffy practically stumbled out of the car when Xander opened the door. The brown haired boy offered to help her carry the large box she held in her hands, but she refused vehemently, shaking her head and shouting over her shoulder as she walked up the front steps of the building.   
  
“Just help Willow bring the other boxes from the back."   
  
She placed the heavy load on the floor and brushed her hands over her dirty jeans. Stretching herself for a second, she rubbed the back of her neck. She was going to have major backaches by tomorrow morning. Thank God it was a Saturday!   
  
She rang the door bell and waited for an answer. When it didn’t come, she rang twice more and once again got no reply. After she repeated the process three more times she gave up.   
  
She sighed heavily.   
  
“No one home?" Willow questioned with a frown, dropping the large box she was carrying next to Buffy’s.   
  
“I told Harmony I’d be here by eleven." Buffy grumbled, checking her watch before ringing the door bell again.   
  
“Didn’t she give you your own key?" Xander asked, walking up next to them and adding to the growing pile of boxes at the entrance of the building.   
  
“She couldn’t remember where she had left them and I was already late so… God, I can’t believe she’d forget!"   
  
“This *is* Harmony we are talking about, right?" Xander tried to verify.   
  
Buffy simply pouted and gave the doorbell one last try.   
  
“What are we going to do now?" Willow wondered.   
  
“Wait?" Buffy offered.   
  
“In the meantime, we can just unload the rest of the stuff."   
  
“Good idea, Xander. Maybe she just went out to get breakfast, or something." Willow supplied.   
  
“Ah! Willow, ever the optimist!" Xander exclaimed on his way back to the car.   
  
~+~   
  
Two hours passed and the three were still sitting on the boxes piled up at the front door. Willow and Buffy shared one, while Xander practically lay sprawled on another.   
  
“I don’t think she’s coming." The redhead finally spoke what was on their minds.   
  
“God, I’m gonna kill that pathetic excuse for-“   
  
“Buffy!" Harmony’s overly cheerful voice reached Buffy’s ears and she snapped her head around to see the ex-cheerleader walking down the road, carrying two shopping bags in each hand. “What are you doing here? Willow! Zach! How are you?"   
  
“Hey, Harmony." Willow replied while Xander corrected:   
  
“It’s Xander."   
  
“Whatever." She dismissed him with a wave of her hand. “What are you- Oh, you’re moving in today?"   
  
“Yes." Buffy practically growled, standing up and picking one of the boxes as she followed Harmony.   
  
“Oh. I completely forgot." She explained nonchalantly as she fit the key into the lock and opened the door. “I just went shopping and I got this amazing Versace dress. You just gotta see it." She chirped happily, not bothering to hold the door open for Buffy as she walked inside.   
  
As a result, the petite blonde was projected backwards, toppling over Willow as the door slammed against her. The box she was holding fell to the floor and the distinct sound of something breaking was heard.   
  
“Oh, my God! My lamp!" Buffy explained stumbling to her feet and helping Willow up before kneeling next to the box and opening it.   
  
Her panic expression was replaced by a completely distraught one as she picked a random piece of broken glass from inside the box.   
  
“Oh, you broke it?" Harmony asked from her spot at the door.   
  
Buffy threw Harmony a murderous look.   
  
“Bummer." She said before walking inside.   
  
“I can’t live with her." Buffy hissed under her breath, picking up her box again and kicking the door open. “She’s gonna turn me into a psychotic killer."   
  
“Just relax. Maybe it won’t be that bad." Willow offered just as they reached the elevator.   
  
In about twenty minutes they managed to stock up all the boxes in Buffy’s new room.   
  
“I’m going to have some major back pains tomorrow." Willow mumbled, whipping the sweat from her forehead.   
  
“I don’t think I can move." Xander moaned plopping down on the bed.   
  
Buffy smiled as she leaned on the nearest available surface.   
  
“Finally, I thought you guys would never finish." Harmony complained, coming into the room.   
  
‘Maybe it would have been faster if you had actually helped instead of sitting on your fat, lazy ass.’ Buffy’s mind screamed, but her mouth simply grumbled: “Yeah."   
  
A frown took over her eyebrows as she watched the bleached blonde walk across the room and start opening one of the boxes.   
  
“Um… Harmony?"   
  
“Yeah?" She replied without stopping what she was doing and forcing Buffy to stand up and walk over to where she was.   
  
“What are you doing?"   
  
“Just checking if you have any cool things to wear. We could share." Harmony explained picking up a shirt for a second before scrunching up her face and throwing the item on the bed.   
  
She was about to reach for the next piece of clothing when Buffy’s hand fell over the box and closed it.   
  
“I don’t share my clothes. Sorry." She apologized unconvincingly.   
  
Harmony stared at her for a second before huffing:   
  
“Fine! You probably don’t have anything slightly wearable anyway. Everything you wear is just *so* last year." Harmony eyed her from head to toe before exiting the room with her nose raised high.   
  
“I can’t believe you’re going to live with that for a whole year." Xander said from his spot on the bed.   
  
“Neither can I." Buffy sighed. Her eyes still lingered on the door for a few seconds before she shook her head and snapped out of her daze. “So, who’s up for some pizza comfort? I know I need it."   
  
“Here, here." Xander instantly approved sitting up straight.   
  
~+~   
  
“Oh, my God, I haven’t seen you wear this in centuries." Willow exclaimed, taking out the blue cashmere sweater and passing it to Buffy.   
  
“Yeah. I don’t really know why I keep it. I’ve been meaning to throw it away for some time now, but every time I decide to clean out my closet this sweater just seems to sneak its way past my cleaning radar." Buffy replied, folding the item and placing it neatly on one of the shelves of her closet. “It’s one of life’s mysteries."   
  
Willow smiled and continued handing her clothes.   
  
“How’s that mattress, Xander?" Buffy asked sardonically.   
  
“Very comfortable." The boy practically purred as he lay with his eyes closed on the bed.   
  
“I bet." Willow smiled, shaking her head and exchanging a look with the blonde.   
  
“I was being witty and sarcastic. You know, all college-like."   
  
“Huh?" Xander pretended not to hear. “Sorry, I didn’t hear you. I’m just too tired from carrying all those heavy boxes. You know, all friend-like." He jabbed. “And without any compensation I might add."   
  
“What do-“ Buffy wasn’t able to finish her sentence as the doorbell rang.   
  
“Pizza!" Xander jumped off the bed and was out the door in an instant.   
  
When the two girls joined him he was already seated on one of the barstool with a large slice of greasy pizza in his hand he was about to bite into.   
  
“God, how I needed that!" The sentence was barely comprehendible as he munched on the pizza.   
  
Willow and Buffy smiled and took their seats on each side of the young man.   
  
“Hey, you guys."   
  
The three sighed in unison and turned to see the ex-cheerleader walk into the apartment. She had gone out shopping – Again! – as they had started unpacking Buffy’s belonging and they had actually managed to have some peace and quiet.   
  
“Oh, pizza! Great, I’m starving!" She cried, dropping her bags to the floor as she rushed to the counter and grabbed a slice of pizza.   
  
The three just sat and watched as she gobbled up the slice in record time and reached for a second serving. Once again, the slice disappeared into her mouth and she took yet another one.   
  
“Um… Harmony?" Buffy interrupted the blonde’s binging fest.   
  
“Huh?" She asked mouthful, not bothering to glance at her.   
  
Buffy was about to say something but decided not to. ‘Better not start off this whole roommate thing on the wrong foot.’ She thought to herself.   
  
“Nothing. H-How’s the pizza?"   
  
Harmony reached for a bunch of napkins and cleaned her mouth as she mumbled on her way to her room.   
  
“Kinda greasy, actually. Not too good."   
  
“Oh, she is just unreal!" Xander supplied. “Not too good? Good enough to gobble up half of a family-sized pizza in three minutes flat."   
  
Buffy simply sighed, cleaning her hands on one of the few remaining napkins.   
  
“I don’t care. I just want to have my room, have some peace and quiet and not have to worry about her."   
  
Chapter 2   
  
She dragged her feet up the stairs and inhaled sharply when she reached the top.   
  
“I can’t believe the elevator is broken and I just had to walk up 9 floors… at nine o’clock at night!" She added, speaking to herself as she pushed her key into the lock and opened the door.   
  
God, she was tired. It was only Monday but she felt like a wreck.   
  
“Harmony?" She called out.   
  
There was no answer.   
  
“Good! She’s not home." She sighed in relief, dropping her keys on the counter and letting her backpack fall to the floor on her way to the couch.   
  
She sprawled on it, taking off her shoes and placing her sore feet on the coffee table. With some effort she reached for the remote and turned on the TV. Zombie-like she zapped through all the channels, occasionally mumble something under her breath. Within ten minutes she was asleep.   
  
“Get OUT of here! You’re kidding!"   
  
As if she had been shocked by a powerful electric current, Buffy jolted from her spot on the couch, blinking wildly as her heart pounded in her chest.   
  
“She wore the beige Channel bag with the D&G pumps? I can’t believe that!"   
  
It took a few seconds for her to register that the ungodly screeching she was hearing was actually Harmony chatting on her cell phone. Buffy rubbed her eyes, checking her watch for the time while the tall blonde walked into the kitchenette talking loudly.   
  
“God, you’re so lucky to be in LA, Cordy!"   
  
Harmony’s last hysterical squeak caught Buffy’s attentions   
  
‘So Cordy really did go to LA…’ Her stomach turned painfully at the image that flashed through her mind. Shaking her head, she tried to erase it. ‘No. LA is a huge town, no way they’re going to meet.’ She swallowed hard as her reasoning didn’t seem to ease the knot in her throat.   
  
“There are so many cool people to meet over there. Over here all we have are the local losers."   
  
Buffy couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but she had the slight sensation that just as Harmony had uttered the last word she had thrown a sickened look her way.   
  
“I mean, yesterday I saw this girl… she was wearing a number from last year’s Prada collection. How pathetic can that be?"   
  
The conversation continued, but Buffy wasn’t able to hear the rest as Harmony walked out of the living room and into her bedroom.   
  
Sighing loudly, Buffy forced herself to stand up and gather up her things. ‘I really need a shower.’ She thought.   
  
She was in the bathroom and the water was already running when Harmony burst into the room.   
  
“Oh! You’re going to take a shower?"   
  
“Yeah." She turned around to face her; her hand lingering on the hem of her sweater.   
  
“Would you mind if I took a shower first? I’m going out tonight and I’m already kinda late." Harmony whined.   
  
“Sure." Buffy shrugged taking her things and exiting the room.   
  
“Thanks, you’re a sweetheart."   
  
~+~   
  
Buffy lay on her bed, tapping her fingers on the mattress and occasionally throwing a glance at the alarm clock. It read eleven thirty and she could still hear the water running in the bathroom.   
  
“She’s been in there for an hour now." Buffy mumbled under her breath, pushing herself off the bed and slipping her feet into her slippers.   
  
She knocked on the door and got no reply.   
  
“Harmony? Are you in there?"   
  
“Yeah?" Harmony’s muffled voice was heard from the other side of the door.   
  
“Are you done yet?"   
  
“Just five more minutes."   
  
“You said that fifteen minutes ago."   
  
There was a moment of pause before the shower stopped. Two more minutes passed before the door was flung open and a cloud of steam invaded the hallway, blurring Buffy’s vision for a second.   
  
“I’m done." Harmony smiled widely. “Bathroom’s all yours."   
  
“Thanks." Buffy breathed, entering the room.   
  
She inhaled sharply, slipping out of her clothes. Her right hand grazed over the steamed mirror and she watched her reflection for a second before she turned on the faucet in the shower.   
  
She stepped inside and let out a deep sigh as the warm water washed over her tired body.   
  
“I really needed that." She moaned softly under the stream.   
  
She reached for the shampoo bottle and poured some of the blue substance onto her hand before running her fingers through her hair. She massaged her scalp for a while before she let her hands roamed over her chest and down her legs as she dipped down under the stream once more and enjoyed the ‘wonderful, nice, burning…’   
  
Buffy frowned.   
  
‘Actually not that burning… come to think about it, it’s not even hot.’   
  
And it was growing less hot by the second. Soon the freezing water was rushing out of the shower to hit her back.   
  
“Jesus Christ!" She swore, fumbling with the faucets under the excruciating cold.   
  
She jumped in the shower; her attentions divided between the faucet and the showerhead. Eventually, her hands settled on the former and she was able to turn off the water.   
  
“Harmony!" She shouted even though her jaw trembled as the air grazed over her pebbled flesh.   
  
There was no answer.   
  
Determined to get things straight she stumbled out of the shower and quickly wrapped herself in her towel. She stomped her way out of the bathroom and was about to knock on Harmony’s bedroom door, when it was swung open.   
  
“Buffy?" Harmony said with a frown as she walked into the living room and the shorter girl followed her with a fuming expression. “You have shampoo on your hair." She pointed out as she brushed her hair.   
  
“I know." Buffy growled. “You used up all the hot water."   
  
“That can happen? How? I just took a shower." Harmony wondered, placing her brush on the counter and fluffing her hair. “How do I look?"   
  
“Harmony, you took a two hour shower. What did you expect?" Buffy ignored her question.   
  
“Just wait a few minutes. The water should heat up." She dismissed her accusations with a wave of her hair.   
  
“Wait a few minutes? It’s almost midnight and I have an early class tomorrow-“   
  
“Whatever. I gotta go. Bye." Harmony cut her off, swinging her purse over her shoulder and exiting the apartment, leaving a freezing and soaked Buffy in the middle of the living room, barefoot and wrapped in a towel.   
  
~+~   
  
“Miss Summers!"   
  
Buffy jolted in her chair, snapping her eyes open to find a very pissed man looking back at her.   
  
“Glad you could rejoin us." The professor said sarcastically and a murmuring giggle filled the class.   
  
Buffy felt the blood rush to her cheeks. As if not understand a word of what the Professor Adam was teaching wasn’t enough now she was being caught sleeping in class. She might as well just stop going to any of his lectures for the rest of the year, she was sure to fail now.   
  
Awkwardly, she looked around for her pencil. She found it lost in her lap. Picking it up, she looked at the black board and started writing down the unintelligible gibberish written in white chalk.   
  
She squinted hard, trying to decipher the teacher’s calligraphy which to her was as comprehensible and as elucidating as Egyptian hieroglyphs. She sighed and reluctantly continued to transcribe what she could.   
  
~+~   
  
She let her books fall on the table with a loud thud.   
  
“I hate… Achoo!... college." She said between sneezes as she plopped down on the chair and folded her arms over the heavy volumes.   
  
“Are you ok?" Willow wondered a bit worried.   
  
“No." Buffy mumbled, resting her head on her hands and closing her eyes.   
  
“You don’t look so good." The redhead’s eyebrows came together for a sympathetic frown.   
  
Buffy inhaled sharply and forced her head up, looking at her friend with bloodshot, glassy eyes and a red nose.   
  
“I think I’m getting sick." She muttered with a nasal voice and a pout. “And it’s all *her fault."   
  
“Who?"   
  
“Harmony." Buffy grumbled. “I had to take a freezing shower last night, *at midnight* I might add, all because little Miss Perky just had to take a two hour shower and use up all the hot water."   
  
Willow tilted her head in compassion.   
  
“And if *that* wasn’t enough she got home at five o’clock in the morning, banging all the doors and practically shouting into her cell phone." The little rant seemed to exhaust Buffy’s remaining strength and she let her head drop onto the books again. “Ouch!" She protested, rubbing her temple.   
  
“You should go home." Willow advised, running her hand over the blonde’s forehead. “I think you’ve got a fever."   
  
Sighing, Buffy sat up straight with slouching shoulders.   
  
“I’ve got two more classes today and one of them is the only one I can actually grasp what the topic is. I can’t miss them."   
  
Buffy let her eyelids slid closed for a second before she stood up and picked up her books.   
  
“Where are you going? Aren’t you going to have lunch?"   
  
“No. I can’t stand the sight of food, let alone eat it. I’m just going over to the library; see if I can catch some quality Z time. Bye." Buffy forced a smile and turned around to leave.   
  
“Bye, Buffy. Call me when you get home."   
  
She nodded and continued towards the large building, adjacent to the cafeteria.   
  
~+~   
  
She was brought out of her dreams by a soft hand tugging at her shoulder.   
  
“Um…" She moaned. “Just five more minutes, mom."   
  
“Excuse me…"   
  
A male voice reached Buffy’s ears and a frown quickly settled on her eyebrows. Reluctantly, she pried her eyes open to find a young man looking over her shoulder.   
  
“What…" she mumbled as she slowly straightened up and realised she had been sleeping in a sitting position, with her head resting on her folded arms over a table. ‘A table in the college library.’ She noted, observing her surroundings.   
  
“Oh, My god!" She jumped up and checked her watch. It signalled eight thirty pm. “Damn it! I missed my class." She protested a little too loudly which immediately earned her a couple of angry looks and a powerful “shush" from the old librarian.   
  
“Sorry." She mouthed apologetically at the grey-haired woman with thick glasses. She was the perfect stereotype of what a librarian should look like.   
  
It was only then that she realised that the person who had woken her was still standing at her side.   
  
“Hey." The brown-eyed boy whispered, outstretching his hand.   
  
“Hey." Buffy replied forcing a smile on her face, even though she felt like her nose was clogged up to the top and was about to explode.   
  
“Parker Abrams." He introduced himself when she finally accepted his hand.   
  
“Buffy Summers." She replied with a hoarse voice.   
  
“Fell asleep?" He asked.   
  
She nodded.   
  
“Missed the only comprehensible class I have." She mumbled, lowering her voice when a few heads started to turn towards them.   
  
“Happened to me too. Freshman year. You’re a freshman, right?"   
  
“That obvious?"   
  
“You have all the tell tale signs. “   
  
“Like what?"   
  
“Sleeping in the library is a big one, for instance."   
  
Buffy couldn’t help but smile. He was… nice. She was about so say something when a powerful sneeze took over her. Instantly, the library lady was throwing her a murderous look, while Buffy held her Kleenex to her nose.   
  
“Got the flu, huh?"   
  
Buffy nodded as she tried to silently blow her nose. ‘Great! First cute guy that approaches me since…’ She paused her trail of thought for a second, trying to avoid remembering that painful period in her life. ‘…since *it* and I look like Bozo the Clown.’ She grumbled inwardly.   
  
When she failed to blow her nose without making too much nose she decided it was best to just leave the library and go home.   
  
“I better head home, before the library lady kicks me out." She said with a muffled voice.   
  
“Let me help you with those." Parker offered taking her books from her hands as they walked out of the building.   
  
She let out a low groan when she got outside and realised it was pouring.   
  
“I’m never gonna be able to get home." She mumbled.   
  
“Do you want me to give you a ride home? I’ve got my car just over there." He said pointing at the red Honda across the street.   
  
“I don’t know… I could just wait till it stops raining. I live really nearby and-“   
  
“I promise I’m not a psycho killer." He interrupted her hesitation.   
  
She gave him a questioning look.   
  
“I swear. Look, I’ll even show you my ID. That way, if I try anything funny, you can have me arrested. See." He said taking out his wallet and showing her his driver’s license.   
  
“But, if you’re a psycho killer you can just cut me into tiny little bits and stuff me in the back of your car and no one would ever know." She countered with a half a smile.   
  
“Good point. We need a safety witness then." He looked around but the campus was deserted as the rain continued to pour. “Do you have a cell phone?"   
  
“Why? You’re a mugger too?" She continued, earning a light chuckled from him for her comic effort.   
  
“Maybe." He leered at her. “My idea is that you could call whoever you want and tell them that you’re going to get a ride with me. Of course I can’t know who that someone is, cause if I did I would just kill them too and once again you would be left without a safety witness, right?"   
  
“Good point." She replied, taking her cell phone from the pocket of her jacket.   
  
She speed dialled a number and waited for someone to answer.   
  
“Hello?"   
  
“Buffy?" Willow’s voice was heard from the other side.   
  
“Yeah, it’s me." She said; her eyes fixed on Parker. “Just calling you tell you I’m getting a ride with…" She paused for a second as she read the name on the diver’s licence he had just handed her. “Parker Abrams."   
  
“Huh?"   
  
“You’re my safety witness."   
  
“What?"   
  
“Nothing. Tell you about it later. When I get home, ok?" She giggled a little as she handed the licence back to Parker.   
  
“You better." Willow warned her.   
  
“Ok, talk to you later."   
  
“Bye."   
  
“There. Now you can get a ride with me and not worry that I’m gonna cut you into tiny little pieces and stuff you in the back of my car." Parker joked. “Ready to run?"   
  
Buffy nodded just as they took off and made their way to the car under the heavy rain.   
  
~+~   
  
“This is me." Buffy announced as the car came to a complete stop.   
  
“Nice. Close to campus. And you were able to get it last week?" Parker wondered leaning forward to look up at the building through the windshield of the car.   
  
“Yeah, moved in this weekend." Buffy confirmed.   
  
“You were pretty lucky to get it."   
  
“Well, the jury is still out on that one." Buffy sighed.   
  
At Parker’s confused frown she elaborated:   
  
“My roommate." She paused and added: “She’s from Hell."   
  
Parker nodded and smiled.   
  
“I can relate. I had one of the worst roommates you could get my sophomore year."   
  
Buffy smiled and there was a moment of slightly uncomfortable silence between them.   
  
“Well, I better…" She tilted her head towards the front entrance of the building. “Thanks for the ride." She said, picking up her books and reaching for the door.   
  
“Anytime." He replied. “It was really fun talking to you, Buffy."   
  
“You too." She replied. “I better run." She pointed at the rain that continued to fall.   
  
She was about to open the door when she felt his hand on her elbow.   
  
“Do you wanna have coffee sometime?" He asked her; his fingers lingering on her.   
  
“I’d like that." She replied after a short pause.   
  
“How about tomorrow?"   
  
“I finish classes at three. I have to do some research for this assignment I have. So I’ll be at the library till five." She explained.   
  
“So, see you at five at the library entrance?" He asked.   
  
“Sure. I’d love to." She said as he finally let his hand drop to his hip.   
  
“See you tomorrow, Buffy."   
  
“See you."   
  
With a huge smile she opened the door, raced up the stairs and quickly let herself into the building. She looked back over her shoulder to find the car still parked at her entrance. She waved at him and entered.   
  
She raced up the stairs as if she was walking over clouds, not letting herself be bothered by the fact that the elevator still hadn’t been fixed.   
  
“Harmony?" She called out when she opened the door and entered her apartment.   
  
“Hey!" Harmony’s ever chipper voice came from her room.   
  
“I’m home." Buffy announced as her roommate entered the living room.   
  
She was dressed in a tight red dress that ran high, barely covering her thighs and matching red pumps.   
  
“Wow. You’re going out again?" Buffy wondered.   
  
Inwardly, her smile grew. She was really hoping for some quality alone time.   
  
“Yeah. I’m going with the football crowd to the Bronze." Harmony explained, putting on a pair of earrings and picking up her purse on the way to the door.   
  
“Well, have fun."   
  
“I will." Harmony giggled exiting.   
  
With a tired but content sigh, Buffy walked to her room.   
  
Chapter 3   
  
“So, what’s this whole thing about me being a safety witness?" Willow wondered sitting on Buffy’s bed.   
  
“It’s this guy I met at the library. Name’s Parker Abrams. Very sweet and nice." Buffy explained a bit dreamily, walking around in circles in front of Willow.   
  
“You met a guy? That’s great." The redhead said enthusiastically. “But it still doesn’t explain where I fit in." She noted.   
  
“Well, when we were leaving, the rain was pouring outside and he offered to give a ride and-“ Buffy stopped in mid sentence, frowning when she realised her best friend had her eyes closed and was mumbling something under her breath. “Willow?"   
  
Slowly, her voice grew stronger and louder.   
  
“Oh… God…So good… Good, Oh, God! Yes, yes, yes, YES, YES. HARDER! GOD!"   
  
In seconds she was bouncing on the bed, making it screech and hit the wall hard, while she screamed her lungs out.   
  
“OH, GOD. So GOOD, you’re so GOOD! Don’t stop, don’t ever stop! Oh, MY GOD! SPIKE!"   
  
Buffy’s eyes snapped open to realise she was lying in her bed, under her warm sheets. She blinked wildly, trying to focus her gaze in the dark room while a loud thumping sound came from the wall opposite her bed. Tossing and turning for a few seconds as awareness slowly took over, her hand blindly tapped over her nightstand until she found the switch for her lamp. She turned it on and a soft glow flooded the darkened room. In the meantime, a litany of moans and groans came from Harmony’s room accompanied by loud banging and metallic screeching.   
  
“SPIKE, you’re so BIG! Give it to me hard! Harder, HARDER, FASTER!"   
  
Still a bit dazed, Buffy sat up in her bed and picked up the alarm clock.   
  
“Oh, for Christ sake! It’s four thirty in the morning." She grumbled, dropping the clock back in its place when her brain finally registered what was happening.   
  
For the next twenty minutes Harmony’s high-pitched voice carried clearly into Buffy’s room as the momentum on the other side of the wall grew and the intervals between sequential thumps and screeches became shorter.   
  
“So big, so good… Hard *gasp* HARDER *moan* Oh, GOD! Spike, I’m coming, God I’m- AHHHHHHHHHH!" Harmony cried out dramatically.   
  
“Finally!" Buffy sighed in relief as she waited for the last few thumps and screeches to be heard.   
  
But they never came. The banging sound continued, now at a slower and more even pace, but it was still there.   
  
“What the hell?" Buffy wondered when, slowly, Harmony’s moaning voice resurfaced.   
  
With a groan, Buffy sunk in between her sheets as the symphony continued. She twisted and turned under the covers, using her pillow to cover her ears, but it was to no avail. Ten more minutes passed and Harmony was howling out her second orgasm. Buffy dropped her pillow to the side and waited. Sure enough, three or four harder bangs were heard before a distinctly male groan sounded:   
  
“Fuck!"   
  
Then there was silence and Buffy inhaled deeply, closing her eyes, preparing to fall sleep once more.   
  
Not even five minutes had passed when:   
  
Tap…tap…tap…bang…bang…BANG, BANG.   
  
“Again?!" It was Buffy’s turn to cry out, but her voice didn’t even come close to Harmony’s decibel range.   
  
“God, you’re soooooo GOD!"   
  
Rolling her eyes, Buffy glanced at her alarm clock. It read five a.m.   
  
~+~   
  
A moan was the first thing to escape Buffy’s dry lips when she woke up. She tried to turn sideways to check her alarm clock, only to freeze halfway through the motion when a sharp pain attacked her neck.   
  
She stood completely still, waiting for the ache to cease. When it finally did she moved in slow-motion to check the time.   
  
“Damn it."   
  
She protested when she realised she had slept in and had missed all her morning classes. She closed her eyes and groaned again when she felt a coughing fit take over her. She coughed for a solid five minutes and when it was over she reached for a nearby Kleenex and blew her nose. It was official, she was 100% in flu-mode.   
  
She sighed and let her head drop to the pillow. She could barely move; her body was completely sore.   
  
With a lot of effort she reached for her cell phone on her nightstand and pressed a key continuously.   
  
“Hello?" Willow answered.   
  
“Hey, Wills. It’s *cough* Buffy." She was barely able to speak.   
  
“Buffy? Are you ok?"   
  
“I think the flu is worse." She placed her hand on her forehead and moaned: “And I think I have a fever."   
  
“Do you want me to come over?" Willow offered. “I just finished classes for the day, I could swing by."   
  
“Thanks, Will." Buffy replied.   
  
“I’ll be there in five minutes."   
  
Five minutes later the doorbell rang.   
  
‘Oh, right. I have to open the door. I forgot.’ Buffy thought, preparing herself for the pain as she forced herself to move. She slipped her feet into her slippers and stood up, dragging her aching body across the living room.   
  
“Hey." She greeted half-heartedly, quickly turning around and planting herself on the couch.   
  
“Hey. I brought you cup-a-soup and some tea." Willow said, lifting the paper bag she carried in her hand as she entered the kitchenette. “It’s chicken."   
  
“The tea?" Buffy frowned, sitting sideways to be able to see her friend.   
  
“No, dummy. The soup." Willow giggled.   
  
“Oh, sorry. My brain’s extremely non-functional right about now. Stupid flu." She mumbled before blowing her nose.   
  
“I thought you were getting better - hot date and all." Willow questioned, starting to heat up some water.   
  
“Not a date, Wills." Buffy corrected her friend for the umpteenth time.   
  
They had talked on the phone the night before and the moment Buffy had told her about her ‘coffee, non-date arrangement’ with Parker, the redhead had been become clearly excited with the perspective of her best friend returning to the dating circle.   
  
“And speaking of it, I’m not going to be able to make it. Not like this." Buffy said disappointed. “I have to find a way to let him know I’m sick or he’ll think I stood him up."   
  
“I think Riley, my TA, knows him. I could give him a call and ask him for his number." Willow explained on her way to the living room with the warm cup of soup in her hands. “Here you go. Eat it all up."   
  
“Thanks, mom." Buffy mocked taking the cup.   
  
“Be careful, it’s hot." Willow warned her.   
  
Buffy nodded, blowing on the spoon before placing it in her mouth.   
  
“If I had any taste buds working right now I’m sure I would be telling you this tastes wonderful." Buffy assured her, taking another sip.   
  
“How’d you end up like this?" Willow wondered, taking a seat next to her on the couch.   
  
“The correct question is ‘Because of *who* did I end up like this?’ “   
  
“Actually it would be ‘Because of *whom* did you end up like this?’ “ Willow corrected.   
  
“My brain is working on a very basic level right now, Willow and grammar is definitely *not* included as an essential intellectual function." Buffy replied promptly and Willow smiled. “And the answer to the question is the roommate from Hell." Her eyes widened at the last word and then looked up at Willow, tilting her head. “Apparently, it’s mating season for overly chipper, bubble-gum-sweet, ex-cheerleaders."   
  
Willow frowned.   
  
“I woke up at five thirty in the morning to the symphony of headboard banging and bed screeching." Buffy explained.   
  
“She brought someone over?" Willow asked surprised. “To have sex?"   
  
“Yep." Buffy popped the ‘p’. “And best of all? She’s a talker. No! Actually, no!" She quickly corrected. “She’s a screamer!"   
  
“Ouch!" Willow replied sympathetically.   
  
“Oh, God. Sooo good. Sooo big. Harder, harder." Buffy mocked in a high-pitched voice. “It went on, and on, and on. It just would. Not. Stop. Ever! I had to listen to this major moan-fest for almost three hours."   
  
“THREE HOURS?!" Willow shouted, but quickly calmed down when her friend winced.   
  
“Having major migraine here, Willow. Some sympathy, please." Buffy said in a groggy voice.   
  
“Sorry. Momentary brain spasm." She apologised. “But three hours, huh?"   
  
“So?" Buffy tried to seem indifferent.   
  
“Well, it’s kinda… you know, a lot of time to be having sex. Especially of the non-stop kind." Willow argued.   
  
“Maybe." Buffy admitted, shrugging and flinching a bit when the pain in her neck returned. “But the point here is that you’re supposed to commiserate with me over my three hour torture session and not be in awe of Harmony’s fantastic sex-life."   
  
“Sorry. Switching off pervy-Willow and starting intense commiseration mode."   
  
“I can’t even move my neck." Buffy pouted.   
  
“Poor Buffy. Do you want some more? I bought two cup-a-soups." Willow offered, trying hard to be helpful.   
  
“No, thanks." Buffy smiled, placing the cup on the table and running her hands over her face. “I just want to erase that freaky voice inside my head that insists on replaying Harmony’s moans." She explained massaging her temples and closing her eyes.   
  
“Try listening to Britney Spears. That helps! You’ll have ‘Baby, hit me one more time’ screaming in your ears the whole day, but…"   
  
“Still, surprisingly better than loud-roommate-sex." Buffy completed her sentence, opening her eyes.   
  
“That bad?"   
  
“So big. So hard. Harder, harder. Ah! You’re sooo good!" Buffy mimicked again, thrusting her hips forward. She was about to throw her head backwards for greater impact but the pain in her neck prevented her from doing so.   
  
“Spike?"   
  
“Yeah. Must be Harmony’s male equivalent, IQ-wise." Buffy rolled her eyes. “Those football guys have such stupid nicknames.   
  
“I don’t remember anyone in the football team named ‘Spike’." Willow noted with a frown.   
  
“Who cares? I know I *really* don’t."   
  
Willow smiled before starting to stand.   
  
“Well, I better go. I told Tara I’d meet her for lunch today."   
  
“Ok. Thanks for coming by. You’re a sweetheart." Buffy called after Willow’s retreating form.   
  
“You’re welcome." Willow stopped at the door as she remembered. “Oh, and I’ll send you Parker’s number when I get it, ok?"   
  
“Before five." Buffy warned.   
  
“Ok. Bye."   
  
“Bye."   
  
~+~   
  
The rest of the day was spent vegetating on the couch, staring blankly at the TV screen as she mindlessly surfed through the various channels. She had taken a few minutes of the afternoon to call Parker and reschedule their ‘non-date agreement’. He had been very sweet about it and had told her that they could have coffee on Friday. After that she returned to her television watching. Occasionally, she would doze off; her eyelids becoming increasingly heavy until their burden seemed unbearable and she had to close them. Her mind was lost in some strange, distant reverie when small, annoying sounds started to filter in and began pulling her back to awareness. She fought them, closing her eyes tighter and turning to burry her face in the back of the couch.   
  
“Shhh! She’s sleeping." Harmony’s pathetic attempt at a whisper reached Buffy’s ears.   
  
By her calculations the ex-cheerleader was probably standing somewhere between the kitchenette and the couch.   
  
‘I can’t believe she actually remembered to be quiet.’ Buffy thought.   
  
“This your roommate?"   
  
It was a distinctly male voice; a male voice with a British accent. Buffy guessed that he was standing behind the couch and was leaning in to glance at her. She was sure of it when she felt the material of the sofa shift as some pressure was applied to it.   
  
“Yeah." Harmony replied. She was till in the kitchenette and by the muffled sound of her voice, she was eating.   
  
“Kinda small, isn’t she?"   
  
Buffy’s first instinct was to frown in protest, but she repressed the urge just in the nick of time and remained still, her face still partially buried in the back of the couch.   
  
“What?" Harmony’s question was barely comprehensible.   
  
‘God, has she ever heard you’re not supposed to talk when you eat. Just one more thing to add to the ‘very annoying things Harmony does’ list.’ Buffy noted mentally.   
  
“Spike, are you sure you don’t want something to eat?"   
  
‘Oh, so this is the boinking-machine that kept me awake last night?’   
  
An almost immediate dislike for the faceless man standing near her started to grow inside of her.   
  
“Nah. Not hungry, luv."   
  
He sounded like he was closer, hovering over her and she had to fight not to jump away.   
  
“Spike, what are you doing?" Harmony’s voice closed in on them until Buffy was sure she was standing next to the boinking-machine.   
  
“Nothing." He replied. “Just go change and let’s go."   
  
“Ok, give me a minute."   
  
Ever bubbly, she walked across the living room and into her bedroom. Buffy heard the sound of a door closing.   
  
She remained perfectly still, trying to assess where the stranger was. She had heard a few footsteps but she couldn’t pinpoint his exact location.   
  
A few seconds filtered by without a sound. She was about to move, sure that he had followed Harmony into the bedroom when she sensed the leather of the sofa shift right next to where she lay her head, at the arm of the couch.   
  
Her heart skipped a beat when she felt a hand brush lightly over her hair, pushing it back to reveal her face. The intense scent of cigarettes and alcohol broke through her stuffed nose and she immediately realised that he was kneeling near the arm of the couch, leaning in.   
  
‘Please go away. Please go away.’ Buffy chanted the mantra mentally. ‘If he touches me again I swear I’ll scream.’ She promised herself. ‘Why does Harmony have to take so long dressing?’   
  
“Oh, Spikey…"   
  
‘Speak of the devil’s annoying little minion…’   
  
“Could you come here for a second?"   
  
There was a moment of stillness, as if he was pondering his answer but then she felt the pressure on the leather ease up and footsteps walking away from her. A door opened and closed and there was completely silence that lasted for about twenty seconds.   
  
“Oh, yes, Spike. You’re so good."   
  
‘Oh, not again.’ Buffy rolled her eyes inwardly.   
  
She was trapped. If she moved from the couch they would know she hadn’t been sleeping or at least had woken up and heard them and she really didn’t want to discuss the event taking place. She had no choice but to sit tight and wait it out.   
  
‘Great, just great.’   
  
Twenty minutes later, Buffy was laying on the couch, hands crossed over her chest, mindlessly tapping her fingers to the beat of the banging coming from Harmony’s room.   
  
“Yes, yes, yes… Oh, God! YES! Ahhhhh!" Harmony came with a loud cry.   
  
Three or four more thumps and:   
  
“Ahhhhh!"   
  
The boinking-machine seemed to be done too.   
  
Quickly, Buffy turned to her side, resuming her position, facing the back of the couch, her hands nestled under her head.   
  
It took only two minutes for the sound of a door being open was heard and footsteps into the living room followed.   
  
“See, I told you. She sleeps like a rock. She didn’t hear anything." Harmony’s giddy voice sounded.   
  
‘Didn’t hear a thing, my ass.’ Buffy thought and this time she couldn’t help the angry frown from settle over her eyebrows. Thankfully, the couple seemed too busy getting dressed to notice her - the distinct metallic sound of a zipper was heard.   
  
“We better go." Harmony announced.   
  
“Right." The boinking-machine said with a groggy voice.   
  
The moment she heard the front door being closed, she opened her eyes and sat up only to immediately fall back down when the door reopened.   
  
Buffy winced inwardly as she banged her head on the arm of the couch. Heeled-footsteps were heard around the room before the door closed again.   
  
This time, Buffy waited a few seconds until she was sure they wouldn’t come back.   
  
“Finally!" She sighed in relief, sitting up. “I hate my life." She mumbled, standing up and dragging her feet to her room.   
  
Chapter 4   
  
“So, how was the non-date arrangement with mysterious, potentially non-psychotic Parker?" Willow asked with huge eyes, sipping from her cup.   
  
The two best friends sat in the campus coffee shop chatting away during their break from classes.   
  
“Rescheduled for today." Buffy replied.   
  
Her voice was still a bit froggy and she hadn’t completely recovered from the flu yet, but insisted on going to classes.   
  
“You excited?"   
  
“Kinda." Buffy lowered her gaze to the mug she held in her hands, but when Willow giggled excitedly she added, looking up: “It’s just coffee. I don’t know if I’m completely ready to start seriously dating again. It’s still a bit… strange." Buffy said in a weaker voice, staring at the cup once again when past memories flooded her mind and caused her stomach to twist painfully.   
  
Willow gave her a sympathetic look as a long pause filtered between them.   
  
“Cordelia’s in LA too." Buffy spoke finally, looking up to meet her friend’s stare.   
  
“Oh."   
  
“I overheard Miss Perky talking to her on the phone earlier this week." Buffy swallowed hard, fingering her mug for a few seconds. “Do you think they’ll meet?" She suddenly blurted out.   
  
“It’s a pretty big city, I doubt they’ll meet." Willow noted.   
  
“Yeah, you’re probably right." Buffy pressed her lips together and nodded.   
  
“Are you afraid that Cordy and…"   
  
“No, no! A-and even if they did, Angel and I aren’t together anymore so…" Buffy trailed off as the knot in her throat seemed to strangle her and make it impossible to speak.   
  
“They’re probably not going to see each other at all."   
  
“Yeah, exactly." Buffy nodded once more, trying to convince herself.   
  
“And even if they did, Angel would never go for her. She used to hit on him all throughout high school and he never even spared her second glimpse." Willow continued to point out.   
  
Buffy nodded and paused for a second before continuing:   
  
“Plus, I shouldn’t even be thinking about this. Angel has the right to have a relationship with someone else. I mean, it’s time to move on, right?" She looked at her best friend for support.   
  
“Right. And if you think Parker’s nice a-and funny, you should just go out with him and have fun."   
  
“And that’s what I’ll do." Buffy decided. “I’ll go and have coffee with him and if it all goes well, we’ll go on an official date."   
  
“Good." Willow smiled, happy to see her best friend turning things around.   
  
~+~   
  
Buffy sprinted across the street eyeing her watch. She was late. Very late.   
  
“God, I hope he’s still there." She spoke under her breath making her way to the coffee-shop.   
  
When she reached it, the café was packed. It was the social hotspot to be at on late afternoons on Fridays. She stood in the corner, on the tip of her toes, hugging her books against her chest while she scanned the crowd. She sighed and let her shoulders slack when she failed to find him.   
  
“I was starting to think you had stood up me up."   
  
She jumped up at the familiar voice coming from behind her. She turned around to find a smiling Parker standing there.   
  
“Hey. I’m really sorry. Professor Adam thought it would be a great idea to have an extra class today and I really couldn’t miss it and-“ The words rushed out of her mouth.   
  
“It’s ok." Parker gently cut her off. “The important thing is you made it."   
  
“Yeah." She gave him a shy smile, dropping her gaze.   
  
“I never thought this would be so crowded." Parker noted eyeing the crowd.   
  
“It’s cause it’s late afternoon. Sorry." She apologized again.   
  
“It’s ok. Really!" He assured her. “Come on. I know this great place just around the corner. I’m pretty sure it’s not this crowded."   
  
She nodded and followed him out of the coffee shop.   
  
~+~   
  
Two long hours later…   
  
Buffy walked slowly alongside Parker, her fingers busy pulling at the edges of her sleeves.   
  
“Are you going home for the weekend?" He questioned, his hands buried deep in his jeans’ back pockets.   
  
“Probably not. Don’t have enough laundry pilled up."   
  
He chuckled at that.   
  
They came to a stop when they reached the familiar building.   
  
“Ready to return to the roommate from Hell?" He asked.   
  
“Don’t remind me." She grumbled and rolled her eyes. “With any luck she’s gonna bring lover boy over again. God, I hope she goes out tonight and doesn’t come back home before ten am!"   
  
“I’ll keep my fingers crossed for- Ouch." He was cut off when a blur of blonde hair swung the door open and crashed into him.   
  
“Hey!" Harmony protested standing up straight.   
  
“Sorry." Parker automatically apologized when he regained his equilibrium.   
  
She looked at him from top to bottom and gave him a leer.   
  
“It’s ok." Her voice was pure saccharine and it made Buffy’s blood boil.   
  
The shorter girl cleared her throat and caught Harmony’s attention.   
  
“Oh, hey Buffy. Didn’t see you there." She greeted dismissively turning her gaze back to Parker. “Hi, I’m Harmony!" She outstretched her hand.   
  
“Parker."   
  
“Nice to meet you, Parker."   
  
“Um, Harmony? Don’t you have anywhere to be?" Buffy cut in on their conversation.   
  
Harmony’s eyes widened as she seemed to remember something.   
  
“Oh! Right! Gotta go!"   
  
Without another word the ex-cheerleader was jogging down the street.   
  
“So that’s the roommate from Hell?" Parker questioned, turning to face Buffy again.   
  
“Yeah." She mumbled; her eyes lingering on Harmony’s departing form.   
  
“I guess you got your wish. Or at least part of it."   
  
“What?" Buffy snapped out of her daze and looked up at him.   
  
“She’s out of the house." Parker pointed out.   
  
“Right." Buffy smiled.   
  
An awkward silence stretched between them, standing there at her doorstep as she began to wonder whether or not to ask him upstairs.   
  
‘He’s sweet and nice. And college *is* about experimenting and being different. And it’s been so long since…’ A part of her mind tried to convince her. On the other hand she was still a bit hoarse and kinda weak, even though she was sure her horniness would take care of that. The truth was that deep inside she still didn’t feel ready and no matter how sweet and perfect Parker seemed to be, this was still their first date. She had given up on pretending it wasn’t a date after the first hour of giggling and laughing at the bar he had taken her to.   
  
“So…" Parker broke the stillness.   
  
“Yeah…"   
  
‘What if Harmony comes back? What if she brings the boinking-boy with her? God, how embarrassing would that be?’ That last thought tipped the mental scale in her mind.   
  
“I better go. I’m pretty tired and still kinda groggy."   
  
“Of course. Better get some rest." Even though he tried to sound encouraging, the disappointment was evident in his voice.   
  
“But I loved the coffee!" Buffy quickly added. It seemed to give Parker renewed hope:   
  
“There’s this frat party I have to go to next week. It’s kinda lame but a friend of mine is hosting it and he insists on me being there. Do you wanna go? It would sure help to make it less lame and more interesting." He blurted out.   
  
“I’d love to."   
  
“Great. It’s on Friday. I’ll pick you up at ten?" He offered.   
  
“Ten it is."   
  
“Ok, then. See you on Friday…" He trailed off but remained in place, staring at her.   
  
‘Oh, God! The dreaded to kiss or not to kiss moment of the evening.’   
  
Buffy winced inwardly when she instinctively leaned in and placed a soft kiss on his cheek. Once more, the disappointment was clear on his features.   
  
“Goodnight, Parker." She said pushing open the door.   
  
“Goodnight." He replied walking down the steps and away from the building when she entered.   
  
Buffy leaned on the closed door for a second, her heart slamming in her chest. God, she hated first dates. It was all so weird. All the expectations, all the doubts and awkward silent moments were intolerable.   
  
With a long sigh she pushed herself off the metallic structure and walked over to the elevator.   
  
“It’s working!" She couldn’t help exclaim when she pressed the button and the doors opened.   
  
Harmony was out, the elevator was working. Things were looking up for this weekend.   
  
A high-pitched sound announced she had reached the desired floor and the doors glided open again. She slid the key into the lock and entered her apartment.   
  
Not bothering to turn on the lights, she made her way down the hall, dragging her tired feet across the living room. In the dark corridor, she blindly reached for the doorknob and opened the door to her bedroom. With a long sigh she flicked the lights on and threw herself on the bed.   
  
“Tired, tired, tired…" She mumbled as she stared up at the ceiling. “Thank God it’s Friday!"   
  
After a few minutes she forced her body to move and pushed herself off the mattress. Opening one of the drawers in her closet, she searched for a towel, finally settling for a white one. Rolling her sore shoulders and stretching her neck, she unbuttoned her shirt and let it slide down to the floor while she simultaneously kicked her shoes off. Her fingers went for the fastening of her jeans and quickly undid them, letting them pool down to meet the discarded shirt. Finally, her thumb hooked into her socks pulling them off before reaching behind her back to work on her bra.   
  
Wearing nothing but her panties, she wrapped the towel around her chest and walked out of the room. She entered the bathroom and turned on the water. A nice, warm shower was all she needed.   
  
As she sat on the toilet, waiting for the water to heat up, she felt her stomach growl.   
  
‘Right, I didn’t have dinner.’ She realised.   
  
After the first hour at the bar, Parker had suggested they go eat somewhere but, for some reason, the thought of going out to dinner with him had freaked her out a bit. So she had graciously declined even though she was pretty hungry.   
  
“I actually consider asking a guy up to my apartment on the first date but the thought of having dinner with said guy is out of the question. Oh, I’m very healthy, no doubt." She mumbled to herself when she realised how ridiculous the situation was.   
  
Shaking her head, she left the bathroom and was making her way through the corridor when she suddenly became aware of rustling sounds coming from the living room, quickly followed by footsteps.   
  
Her heart skipped a beat when a male shape came into view. Instinctively, she hid in the shadows of the corridor, heartbeat racing, her palms growing sweatier by the second as she watched the man walkabout in the room. He seemed a little disoriented as if he was looking for something.   
  
‘Oh, my God. It’s a burglar!’ She realised, cowering against one of the walls of the corridor and clinging to the towel that was wrapped around her body. ‘And I’m naked!’ She suddenly realised.   
  
She held her breath when she heard the man mutter something incomprehensible as he continued to walk around the room.   
  
‘I have to do something. 911. Call 911!’   
  
Mentally she tried to remember where she had left her cell phone and almost cursed out loud when she recognised the outlining of the small device over the kitchen counter. ‘Great, just great!’   
  
Her mind raced, trying to figure out what to do when suddenly, just as the stranger turned his back and faced the front door, she went on automatic. In an instant the metallic jug that was on the coffee table materialized in her hand as she crossed the living room and BAM!   
  
A loud but dull sound filled the silent room when the copper connected with the stranger’s unprotected skull. It took all of two seconds for the man to fall flat on the floor; head tilted limply sideways, eyes closed.   
  
Buffy’s hands immediately went to cover her partially-open mouth, the jug tumbling loudly to the linoleum floor.   
  
“Ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod!" She practically screamed the mantra hysterically, standing over the unconscious body. “I killed him, I killed him. I killed a man."   
  
Her breath was coming in short, urgent pants when she began to move erratically around the room, her brain too tired and shocked to know what to do next. Finally, she settled for lighting up the place so she could actually assess just how much damage she had inflicted. She crawled clumsily over the couch, clutching the towel against her chest as she reached for the small lamp on the other side, closer to the window. A soft orange glow flooded the previously darkened room.   
  
Awkwardly, she trembled her way back to the unmoving stranger, kneeling next to him she hesitated. She eyed him, trying to figure out just by looking if he was alive. He was dressed in black from head to toe which contrasted with his bright white, clearly bleached hair.   
  
‘Not very discrete for a burglar.’ Buffy noted; tilting her head sideways when she realised that looking at him wouldn’t solve her problem.   
  
Even so, she stared at him for a few seconds more. Her shaky hand slowly started to hover over his chest, making its way to his neck, while the other remained gripping the towel.   
  
“Please don’t be dead. Please don’t be dead." She muttered constantly, just as her fingers reached their goal. “Please don’t be-AHhhhhh!"   
  
Ice-blue eyes stared up at her for a brief second before she found herself lying on her back, on the floor, arms pinned at her sides, trapped under the full weight of the stranger.   
  
Without another thought in mind but her own safety she bucked her hips wildly against her attacker, shaking her head like a mad woman, her hair flying in every direction succeeding solely in covering her face and in making it impossible to see the stranger that still lay on top of her.   
  
“Ah!" She continued to scream, shaking her entire body, pushing and pulling her arms trying to free herself but failing miserable. “Let go of me, you creep!"   
  
“Bloody hell, woman! What are you doing?!" She heard him shout at her.   
  
“LET GO!"   
  
“Stop screaming!" He commanded. “Will you just – Hey! Watch it!" He warned her when she managed to free her left leg for a fraction of a second and her knee came very close to his groin.   
  
“Let go of me, you perv!" She yelled one last time before she stopped rattling.   
  
She stood still, her face completely covered by her hair, yet he could see angry-hazel eyes staring murderously up at him.   
  
“You touch me or try anything, I swear to God I will hunt you down and castrate you!" She growled between clenched teeth.   
  
He frowned at that.   
  
“What?"   
  
With a violent motion of her neck she succeeded in pushing away most of the strands that covered her face and green and blue eyes met each other under the dim orange light for the first time.   
  
Chapter 5   
  
‘A storm in the form of a girl.’ For the first time the phrase seemed to make perfect sense in his mind. It was the only sentence that could come close to describing the furious creature lying underneath him with large blazing eyes, flushed cheeks as she pulled harsh pants from her small lungs.   
  
They stared at each other in silence. Buffy tried to speak immediately but couldn’t when she felt the strangest sensation in the pit of her stomach. She swallowed hard and tried to ignore it as she started her rambling:   
  
“You just added assault to breaking and entering bleach-boy. I don’t know how it works in the Motherland, but in America you can’t just go around-“   
  
“What are you talking about?" He cut off her mini-speech, still a bit dazed. “You hit me." He glanced away from her for the first time, eyeing the fallen jug as he continued: “That bloody thing could have killed me. What’s wrong with you?"   
  
“What is wrong with *me*? You break into my apartment-“   
  
“Break in? I didn’t break in." He insisted.   
  
“Right. Then what do you call walking into a stranger’s house uninvited?" She asked sarcastically.   
  
“I was invited."   
  
“By who?"   
  
“By whom, luv." He corrected, rolling his eyes for a second. “Will you Americans ever quit butchering the English language?"   
  
“What? I’m getting grammar lessons from a thief?" Buffy huffed.   
  
“I’m not a thief! I was invited. And as far as I know you’re the one breaking in." He countered.   
  
“Of course! Cause everyone knows that the cat suit is totally out of date and the proper outfit for breaking and entering is a single white *towel*." She retorted throwing a sarcastic glance downward to emphasize her lack of clothing.   
  
“Oh." He mumbled eyeing her heaving chest.   
  
“Hey! What are you doing?" She bucked under him trying to divert his attention from her barely covered breasts.   
  
“Sorry, luv." He apologized unconvincingly as he leered at her but not before throwing one last quick glance down south.   
  
There was an awkward silence between them as they stared at one another.   
  
“So… you mind getting off?" She finally asked giving him an annoyed look.   
  
‘With you? Anytime.’ His mind immediately replied, but instead, he opted for:   
  
“If I let you go, do you promise not to hit me over the head again?"   
  
She nodded, setting her mouth in a straight line.   
  
Slowly, he let go of her arms and placed his hands on either side of her head, raising his body off of hers. Before he could get up, she scrambled out from under him and stumbled to her feet, awkwardly gathering up the towel around her.   
  
With one free hand she batted away the hair that insisted on falling over her face and watched as the stranger slowly stood up.   
  
“Let’s try this again. If you’re not a burglar, what are you doing here?" She started with both hands clutching the towel closer to her chest.   
  
“Harm let me in." He replied.   
  
“Harm?"   
  
“Yeah. Blonde, about this tall, overly-cheerful, not too bright." He described.   
  
“Harmony?"   
  
“That’s what I said."   
  
“Oh! You’re boink-boy." Buffy realised, her eyes widening.   
  
“What?" He frowned at that.   
  
“Nothing." She said dismissively shaking her head. “So you’re Stick."   
  
“Huh?" He raised his eyebrow and Buffy noticed a long scar running through it.   
  
“Thorn?" She tried but his confused expression remained. “Spear? Um… Pin? Nail?"   
  
“Spike." He cut her off when he finally realised what she was doing.   
  
“Right." She nodded eyeing him. ‘So this is Harmony’s insatiable sex-toy.’ Her eyes wandered enquiringly. ‘He doesn’t look *that* big to me.’ She thought taking in his short stature. Her gaze travelled over his body before settling over his crotch; her attentions being diverted from the conversation taking place.   
  
She shook her head when she realised the silence had gone on a little too long and looked up to find him gawking at her exposed legs.   
  
“Hey!" She protested pulling at the towel so she could cover her thighs and consequentially causing it to come undone at the top. “Ah!" She yelped catching the material just in the nick of time.   
  
She shot him a murderous look when she recognised the expectation on his face.   
  
“Stop looking at me like that." She ordered.   
  
“Like what?" He questioned cocking up his scarred eyebrow once more while his tongue traced his teeth.   
  
“Ugh!" She said disgusted when she looked at him.   
  
“Well, seems only fair since you were eyeing the family jewels just a second ago." He replied with a smug grin.   
  
“Huh?" She muttered with a confused frown over her perfect eyebrows as she continued to struggle with the small towel.   
  
When he shoved his hand into the front pockets of his jeans and thrust his hips forward her eyes widened in realisation:   
  
“Excuse me?!" She started outraged. “I wasn’t eyeing any… family jewels." She assured him, shaking her head vehemently.   
  
“Right." He replied unconvinced. “Whatever you say, luv."   
  
Narrowing her eyes at him, she decided to let the subject go; her attentions returning to her state of undress as one hand remained over her chest while the other continued to try and stretch the towel downwards. She let out a frustrated groan when she failed. Huffing noisily she blew her dishevelled hair off her face as she hopped her way to stand behind the couch; finally solving her dilemma.   
  
Raising her chin high, she looked down on him even though she was shorter than him; the couch the only thing separating the two.   
  
“Well, Harmony’s not here. And I don’t know when she’s coming back so-" She started haughtily but he cut her off:   
  
“I know. She just left a few minutes ago. We ran out of Johnny-bags." He said, digging through the pockets of his jeans.   
  
“Huh?" She frowned.   
  
“Condoms, luv. She went to get some." He explained tilting his head sideways as he seemed to have found what he was looking for.   
  
‘How gentlemanlike of you.’ She was about to reply when she saw the cigarette dangling from his mouth.   
  
“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?" She protested.   
  
The flame from the lighter stopped inches from the cigarette.   
  
“What?" He asked, his gaze leaving the rolled paper to look at her.   
  
“There’s no smoking in here."   
  
“Come again, luv?" He questioned once more, letting the Zippo’s cap fall back into place and extinguishing the flame.   
  
“You can’t smoke in here." She insisted throwing him a threatening glance.   
  
“You’re kidding, right." He mumbled; the cigarette hanging off this mouth moving in accordance with his lips.   
  
“No." She said emphatically, hugging the towel against her as she started to move. “And now if you’ll excuse me…"   
  
She trailed off, quickly making her way around the couch and across the living room with small and fast steps but came to a halt when he called out:   
  
“Hey, didn’t catch your name, luv."   
  
She turned around to face him and she had to stop her eyebrows from furrowing in disgust when she caught him openly staring at her legs. She swallowed hard and tried to ignore the strange flip-flopping of her stomach.   
  
“Buffy." She mumbled, turning around almost robotically and practically sprinted out of the room, slamming the bathroom door closed when she reached it.   
  
She leaned on the wood, inhaling sharply, letting her eyelids fall shut. Breathing deeply, she pushed herself off the structure and, before she could stop herself, she had the door half open and was peeking out. It lasted a fraction of a second as her eyes met the stranger’s and she once more slammed the door closed.   
  
“Freak." She muttered, walking over to the bathtub and turning on the hot water.   
  
~+~   
  
Spike’s gaze remained on the closed door; his mind racing as it replayed what had just happened in the room.   
  
“Buffy..." He mumbled, trying to ignore the way his stomach was flip-flopping at the fresh memory of her scent.   
  
“Spike-y!"   
  
Harmony’s sharp voice snapped him out of his daze. Shaking his head, he turned to look at her.   
  
“Hey." He replied unenthusiastically as he eyed the cheerful blonde that had just entered the apartment.   
  
“I’ve got them." She purred in what sounded like a weird attempt to sound sexy.   
  
“Uh?" For some reason his gaze had returned to the closed door at the end of the corridor.   
  
“The condoms, silly." She explained.   
  
Suddenly, Spike found himself buried in a mountain of blonde hair, strong arms gripping him as Harmony dangled herself off his neck.   
  
“Oh. Great." He replied numbly just before her lips assaulted his.   
  
Slowly, but surely, the image of the tiny blonde wrapped in a towel drifted into the back of his mind as his body reacted to the one attacking his.   
  
He growled and swung her off her feet and carried her to the bedroom.   
  
~+~   
  
“God, yes, God yes!" Harmony’s screams carried easily through the wall that separated their rooms.   
  
“Ok, that’s it!" Buffy grumbled, suddenly hopping out of bed in a fit of rage. “I gotta get out of here."   
  
She walked over to her closet took out the first couple of shirts she could find and shoved them into a backpack. Next were the socks and underwear and not much else. She slipped into her shoes after throwing on a sweater and the nearest available jeans. In three minutes flat she was dressed and had her bag ready.   
  
She stopped for a second scanning the room to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything.   
  
“My purse..." She realised, walking over to her desk and picking it up.   
  
With a loud bang, she slammed the door to her room shut. The thunderous sound stopped Harmony’s orgasmic chanting for a whole three seconds before it restarted:   
  
“Don’t stop, don’t stop… Ah! So good!"   
  
Buffy growled at that, turning the key and locking her door before pounding her way across the hall, living room and exiting the apartment.   
  
~+~   
  
“Buffy? Is that you?"   
  
“Yeah, it’s me mom." Buffy announced tiredly as she dropped her backpack on the floor on her way into the kitchen.   
  
“What are you doing here? I thought you weren’t coming over this weekend." Mrs. Summers wondered, before pausing her dishwashing to kiss her eldest on the cheek.   
  
“I know. I just had to get out of that apartment." She sighed, leaning on the counter while her mother resumed washing the plates.   
  
“Is something wrong with the apartment? I thought you said it was perfect." Mrs. Summers said a bit worried.   
  
“It’s fine. There’s nothing wrong with the apartment itself. My problem is the roommate from hell." She grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.   
  
“H-Harmony, right?" Joyce asked, wiping her hands on the towel and turning to face her daughter.   
  
“Yeah. Her and boink-boy."   
  
“Huh?" Mrs. Summers frowned.   
  
“Nothing. It’s fine." Buffy shook her head trying to erase the sudden flash of the bleached man hovering over her. “Nothing I can’t handle." Buffy assured her before changing the subject: “Where’s Dawn?"   
  
“At Janice’s."   
  
“Again? She spends more time over there than here."   
  
“I know. But what can I do…"   
  
“Tell her she can’t." Buffy widened her eyes at the obvious resolution to the problem.   
  
“Oh, Buffy. Stop picking on your sister. You used to sleep over at Willow’s all the time when you were her age." Joyce countered, coming to hug her daughter. “Now tell me, how’s college?"   
  
“Painfully incomprehensible?" Buffy offered with a desperate frown which earned her a chuckle from her mother as the two walked into the living room and sat on the couch.   
  
“It can’t be that bad, honey."   
  
“Trust me. It is. Every time I walk into a classroom I feel like my IQ just dropped 20 points." She mumbled.   
  
“That’s normal. You just have to relax and take the time to adjust to the new environment." Joyce offered.   
  
“I can’t relax! That’s the point. Not with Harmony around." Buffy sighed once more. “She’s either listening to loud music, or singing in the shower, or eating my food…" She trailed off as the anger started to build in her. “I left Willow’s cup-a-soup in the cupboard. You can bet it’s gonna be gone by Monday."   
  
“Willow brought you cup-a-soup?"   
  
“Yeah, I was kinda sick this week."   
  
Mrs. Summers’ facial expression showed immediate concern.   
  
“You were sick? Honey, are you alright?" Her hand instinctively went for her daughter’s forehead.   
  
“I’m fine, mom." Buffy assured her, rolling her eyes when her mother’s lips replaced her hand on her forehead. “I didn’t even get a fever. I’m fine." At Mrs. Summers’ sceptical glance she added: “Really!"   
  
“You have to be careful, honey. I told you that you should take your thicker sweaters with you."   
  
“I will. Don’t worry." Buffy mumbled with a half-smile tugging at the corners of her lips. It was good to be home and having her mother pampering her.   
  
“Now, about this problem with Harmony … have you tried talking to her about it?"   
  
“How?!" Buffy exclaimed. “Either she’s out partying or she’s eternally getting ready for going out and using up all the hot water in the process."   
  
As she spoke she felt her blood start to boil; the memories of only one week of hell flooding her mind. She cringed at the prospect of a whole year of that torture. Buffy exhaled sharply and crossed her arms over her chest.   
  
“You have to find a way to sit her down and solve this." Joyce insisted.   
  
“I know… I’ll do that." She paused. “On Monday." She added, leaning in to rest her head on her mother’s lap. “Now all I want to do is sleep."   
  
“Poor thing." Mrs Summer’s mumbled, running her fingers through her daughter’s locks.   
  
~+~   
  
The weekend flew by and soon Buffy found herself at the entrance to her apartment once again, with her backpack, her purse and one larger handbag filled with winter clothes. With a sigh, she fit the key into the lock and opened the door.   
  
“Harmony?" She called out, stumbling over the amount of bags she carried. “Good, she’s not home." She glanced at her watch. It read ten pm. “Probably out partying." Buffy reasoned, kicking the door closed with her heel and entering the apartment.   
  
She made her way into her bedroom, dropping her things before she headed for the bathroom and turned on the hot water.   
  
After a quick shower, she was standing in front of the bathroom mirror, towel wrapped around her chest, brushing her hair as she blow-dried it. When she was done, she returned to her room, put on of her nightgown and slipped between the sheets, silently praying for a peaceful night of sleep.   
  
Two hours later…   
  
BANG! BANG! BANG!   
  
“More! More! More! Oh, Spike!"   
  
“I’m gonna kill her." She growled before covering her head with her pillow.   
  
Chapter 6   
  
Her nose instinctively wrinkled up as the first rays of sunlight filtered through the shutters. Buffy tried to ignore them, curling up her body in the small corner of the bed that was still shielded in the shadows but soon it too was flooded with bright strings of light and she was forced to wake.   
  
‘I hate Monday’s.’ She thought. ‘Thank God, I don’t have morning classes!’   
  
She moved slowly under the covers, letting the soft fabric caress her legs and thighs while she stretched out the upper part of her body. Squinting a couple of times, she forced her eyes to open. Rolling her neck which, for the first time in a week, wasn’t sore, she stood up and slid her feet into her slippers making her way into the bathroom.   
  
After going through her morning routine she stepped back into the hall and was surprised when she heard the TV.   
  
‘Harmony is up at 10 am? That’s a first.’ She thought with a frown, dragging her feet across the corridor while her hand scratched her head through the thick and unruly bundle of hair.   
  
She froze in place; hand still on her head when she met a man sprawled on the couch, the remote resting on his t-shirt-clad chest.   
  
“Morning, luv." He greeted, his eyes only leaving the TV screen for a second before returning.   
  
‘Right. Boink-boy is here. Great!’ Her mind grumbled sarcastically while her lips mumbled her groggy: “Morning."   
  
“Like the look." He half-mocked, pointing at her dishevelled hair.   
  
Buffy felt the blood rush to her face, her hand instinctively dropping from her head as she quickly made her way across the room and behind the kitchenette counter.   
  
“Though the towel look suits you better." She heard him add.   
  
She tried to think about a smart comeback but the instant odd combination of embarrassment and disgust interfered with the task. So, she simply ignored him and opened one of the cupboards, staring at its contents for a few seconds, searching for something in particular.   
  
‘Where’s my cup-a-soup?’ Her mind wondered as she scanned the rest of the cabinets and found no trace of it. ‘I knew it. She ate it!’ She groaned inwardly. ‘We really gotta have a talk once she-’ She stopped her train of thought when she saw the familiar cup open and laying on the coffee table – the coffee table where boink-boy had his army-boot-clad-feet propped up on. ‘He ate my cup-a-soup?!’ Her mind screamed.   
  
She was about to say something, but swallowed it down and silently counted to ten. When she was done, she continued to search the kitchenette for food other than Harmony’s bags of chips and peanuts.   
  
‘She eats all my food and leaves me with her half-eaten bags of chips. Perfect.’   
  
After a few minutes she gave up on the frustrating search and sat down on one of the stools, reluctantly munching on some chips. The only sounds in the room came either from her mouth or the TV. Her eyes drifted towards the couch where all she could see of the stranger were his feet - still up on the table next to *her* cup-a-soup – and his right elbow peeking out.   
  
She frowned when her attention was caught by the program showing on the TV.   
  
‘Is that ‘Passions’?! Harmony’s bleached-wonder watches Passions? Oh, that’s priceless.’ She couldn’t help but giggle.   
  
“You say something, luv?" A deep, hoarse voice came from couch.   
  
“Nope. Nothing." She shook her head, standing up and walking over to the couch.   
  
She paused next to the armrest, hesitating on whether to sit down on the armchair of not.   
  
‘Nah. Better not. The silence would just be too weird.’ She decided, starting back to her room.   
  
~+~   
  
Buffy killed time until her lunch appointment with Willow and Xander by lying on her bed, staring up at her ceiling as she waited for boink-boy to free up the living room or for Harmony to wake up. Neither of the options seemed to be bound to happen anytime soon.   
  
“Bored… bored… bored." She mumbled as she wondered what to do next.   
  
She could always go those chapters Professor Adam had asked them to read.   
  
‘Nah. I only have that class on Wednesday.’ She decided.   
  
Ten more minutes passed and she was growing increasingly bored.   
  
“I need some TV." She said out loud, jumping off the bed and walking over to her door. Turning the knob she opened it and entered the hall. She moved closer to the living room, taking a quick peek before hiding back in the shadows.   
  
‘Yep, freak-boy’s still there.’ She thought. ‘I can’t even watch TV in my own apartment. Life sucks.’ Resentfully she walked back into her bedroom.   
  
~+~   
  
“So I had to stay like two whole hours locked in my bedroom, because the bleached-wonder decided to slack on my couch while Harmony snoozed away." Buffy complained yet again to her best friend. “Eventually, five minutes before I had to leave to meet you here, he finally got tired of watching TV and went back into her bedroom." She drew a long breath before adding: “I hate my life. God, I wish I was living in the dorms with you."   
  
Willow tilted her head sideways and she gave her a sympathetic look.   
  
“Speaking of dorms, how’s your roommate? Is she cool, or has she revealed herself to be Harmony-part-two?"   
  
“No. Tara’s really cool." Willow said excitedly.   
  
“Lucky you." Buffy moaned using her fork to shovel her food around in her plate.   
  
“Sorry."   
  
“Don’t be. I’m probably paying for doing something really awful in a past life." Buffy reasoned unenthusiastically. “Maybe I was Jack, the Ripper."   
  
Willow couldn’t help but smile at that when someone in the distance caught her attention.   
  
“Xander’s here." She noted looking over Buffy’s shoulder.   
  
“Hey, guys." The young man greeted pulling out a chair to sit around the small table.   
  
“You’re late." Buffy grumbled.   
  
“And you’re in a such a lovely mood today." Xander remarked sarcastically. “What’s up with the Buffster?" He asked turning to look at Willow.   
  
“Harmony." Was her short reply.   
  
“Oh. You’re excused then." Xander reconsidered. “Sorry I’m late. I got held up at the construction site."   
  
“You’re really going through with the whole construction business. Aren’t you?" Buffy wondered.   
  
“Yep. No turning back now. I’m going to be a responsible, money-earning adult from now on. No more slacking." He announced, raising his chin proudly and filling his chest with air only to deflate it seconds later as he added: “I have to. I can’t live in my parents’ basement anymore. Anya says she needs a strong, independent man. Plus, she hates the fact that she can’t make any noise while my parents are home, which basically equals no sex." He explained.   
  
“Well, good luck."   
  
“Thanks." He smiled signalling the waiter who quickly came over. “I’ll have the day’s special and a coke."   
  
With a nod the waiter parted.   
  
“So, how’s Harmony making your life miserable now?" He questioned.   
  
“By existing in the near vicinity of me?" Buffy offered with a forced smile that crumbled a second later.   
  
“Good one."   
  
“Thanks." Buffy mumbled. “Problem is she brought back-up."   
  
“Huh?" Xander frowned.   
  
“She’s got a…" Buffy paused wondering what word to use next and settled for: “boyfriend now and she keeps bringing him over. I mean, he practically sleeps there. No! Correction, he doesn’t sleep and neither do I." She grumbled, dropping her fork and giving up on eating the food as she leaned back on the chair and crossed her arms over her chest.   
  
Confused, Xander turned to Willow for an explanation.   
  
“They have sex." As the boy continued to frown she added: “Very loud sex."   
  
“Oh." He finally realised.   
  
“Yeah. And if that’s not enough, now I have another freeloader gobbling up *my* food. Willow, he ate my cup-a-soup!"   
  
“The one I brought you?"   
  
“Yes." She pouted.   
  
“Don’t worry; I’ll buy you a new one." Willow replied earning a half smile from the blonde sitting across from her.   
  
“Let’s just change the subject, please." Buffy asked, rubbing her temples.   
  
“So, are you going out with Parker again?"   
  
“Who’s Parker?" Xander questioned but was promptly ignored by the two girls as they seemed to enter total-girly mode.   
  
“Yes. He asked me to go with him to a frat party." She replied a bit shy.   
  
“The one on Friday?" Willow wondered.   
  
“Who’s Parker?" Xander repeated.   
  
“Yeah. You going?"   
  
“I don’t know. I’ll ask Tara if she wants to tag along."   
  
“Cool." Buffy smiled widely.   
  
“Ok. I’ll try this one more time… Who’s Parker?"   
  
“Oh! Xander, I’m sorry. I didn’t hear you." Buffy apologized. “He’s this nice guy I met at the library."   
  
“Library, huh?" He wondered.   
  
“She already went out on a date with him. Coffee. On Friday." Willow added.   
  
“Coffee, on Friday. You’re back in the dating game, Buffster?" Xander questioned a bit concerned, remembering how painfully Buffy’s last experience had ended.   
  
“I guess so." She replied hesitantly.   
  
“Well, good for you!"   
  
“Thanks, Xander. Are you and Anya coming to the party?"   
  
“Doubt it. My parents are going to be out for the weekend. I’m pretty sure Anya and I are gonna wanna enjoy the parent free zone back home." He explained.   
  
“You’re parents are going out for the weekend?" Willow frowned, knowing the Harris’s well enough.   
  
“Aunt Vivian is sick, my mom wants to visit her and she’s dragging my father along because she doesn’t want to take the bus to San Francisco."   
  
“Oh. Too bad then. I hear that the party is going to be amazing." Willow tried to convince her friend.   
  
“Well, I’ll just have to settle for hot-monkey sex with my girlfriend and having lots of orgasms." He said before frowning and adding: “I’m spending too much time with Anya, aren’t I?"   
  
“Yes!" The two girls replied in unison.   
  
~+~   
  
Buffy frowned when she opened the door to her apartment and the scent of paint assaulted her nose.   
  
“Harmony?" She called out.   
  
“In here." The reply came from the bedroom.   
  
There were newspapers spread all over the floor going from the kitchen to hall an into Harmony’s room.   
  
“What are you doing?" Buffy asked, cautiously walking over the old paper.   
  
“Painting my room." Was Harmony’s ever cheerful reply.   
  
Buffy gasped when she reached the bedroom door and the pink practically jumped off the walls to attack her, forcing her to blink a couple of times. When that didn’t seem to dull the ache, she rubbed her eyelids and once again opened them to be assaulted by the colour.   
  
“Do you like it?"   
  
‘No! Get it off! Get it off!’ The unrefined part of Buffy’s brain shouted, but as it filtered through the rest of her socially groomed mind the sentence came out of her lips in one short and uncertain mumble: “It’s bright!"   
  
“I know! Isn’t it the coolest?" Harmony asked giddily as she continued to roll the paint on one of the walls.   
  
“I-It’s really… bright." It was the only socially acceptable adjective that came to mind even though the ones at the top of her list were ‘God awful’, ‘nauseating’, ‘revolting’, ‘hideous’ and ‘painful’. Yes, painful was definitely number one on that list. She was starting to develop a headache just from looking at the colour.   
  
“You said that already." Harmony rolled her eyes as she gingerly continued to paint the rest of the wall.   
  
“Well… it is…" She paused. ‘God, this is horrible. Well, on the bright side it might scare boink-boy away. Yay! I’ll actually be able to sleep in peace.’   
  
Harmony covered the last inch of white on the wall and stood back to admire her handiwork.   
  
She was definitely not meant to be a painter. Buffy could discern the uneven coats of paint which caused the various walls to have different tonalities of the same colour. Plus, she could identify a series of erratic strokes spread over the surface. Some were diagonal, others vertical and some horizontal. If you added the small spots in the corners where there was still a bit of white peeking out, the room was a painter’s nightmare.   
  
“Isn’t it great?" Harmony asked with a huge grin.   
  
“It’s… um… original." She hesitated.   
  
“Spike’s gonna love this." She giggled.   
  
“Yeah, I’m sure he will…" She trailed off. ‘Thank God! I’m going to get rid of boink-boy.’   
  
For some strange reason, maybe because of the thrill of knowing she wasn’t going to have anymore sleepless nights over Harmony’s sex life, she started to actually come to like the new look of the ex-cheerleader’s room, scanning it with still squinting eyes.   
  
Only then did she notice that every single piece of furniture was covered in newspaper.   
  
‘At least she was smart enough to cover the furniture.’ Buffy wondered mentally as she stepped into the room.   
  
She walked around, finding even more jagged strokes on the wall. She frowned when she saw a bit of white peeking out from behind her bed.   
  
“Um… Harmony?"   
  
“Yeah?" She replied with a big smile as she stared up at the walls.   
  
“Did you move the bed so you could paint behind the headboard?"   
  
“Of course not, silly." Harmony replied absentmindedly.   
  
“Huh?" Buffy frowned confused.   
  
“Why would I? I’m not planning on moving the bed, or the desk, so there is no need to paint the walls behind them. What did you think? That I was stupid or something?" Harmony rolled her eyes at Buffy and looked up. “Now I just have to figure out how I’m gonna paint the ceiling."   
  
Buffy was still a bit stunned by the blonde’s logic as she watched her roommate crawl up onto her desk. The material screeched a little under the sudden burden.   
  
“Harmony…? I don’t think the desk can hold you."   
  
“Of course it can. Now pass me the paint roller."   
  
Reluctantly, Buffy bent down and picked up the roller and the can of paint, passing them to Harmony.   
  
She watched as the ex-cheerleader rose on the tip of her toes, her tongue jutting out the corner of her mouth at the effort to reach for the ceiling and roll on the paint on the surface.   
  
“See, it’s easy. Now all I have to do is move the desk around and paint the whole thing." Harmony rationalized just as a drop of paint fell on her face. “Ah!" She screamed. “I can’t see. Buffy, I can’t-“   
  
“Stop, moving you’re going to fall off-“ Just as Buffy was warning her, Harmony stumbled and came tumbling down.   
  
Reacting on pure instinct, Buffy ran across the room, just in time to have Harmony fall on top her and bring them both plummeting down to the floor.   
  
“Ouch!" Harmony protested, still holding the paint roller in her right hand.   
  
“Harmony…" It came out as a weak whisper. A gasp, really.   
  
“Buffy?" She questioned when she opened her eyes and saw her roommate crushed under her.   
  
“I can’t breathe." Buffy managed to exhale.   
  
“Oh, I’m sorry." Harmony quickly rolled off the smaller blonde and in the process managed to splatter paint over Buffy’s sweater, but the cheerleader seemed completely unaware of it as she knelt down next to her. “Are you ok? Oh, my God! You just like… saved me! I can’t believe it." She half-shouted hysterically while Buffy’s painful attempt to prop herself up on her elbows brought on a coughing fit as her lungs were suddenly refilled with air. “Oh, my God! Thank you so much!"   
  
“You’re… *cough, cough*… wel…*cough*" Buffy tried to speak as she sat up but a piercing pain cause her to freeze. “Ah!" She mewled holding onto the side of her ribcage.   
  
“Are you ok?" Harmony asked worried.   
  
“I’m…*cough*…fine."   
  
“Are you sure? We better get you to a hospital or something. Come on." As she spoke Harmony wrapped her arm around Buffy’s and was pulling her up. “I can ask Spike to drive-“   
  
“No!" Buffy immediately halted her, still sitting on the floor while Harmony was halfway up onto her feet.   
  
“Huh?"   
  
“I don’t need to go to the hospital. I’m fine."   
  
“But you could have a broken rib. We have to know, come on." Harmony insisted, pulling at her arm once more.   
  
“No!" Buffy repeated, this time with more emphasis causing the ex-cheerleader to drop her arm.   
  
“Why not?"   
  
“I told you. I’m fine." Buffy insisted, stumbling to her feet and biting back a moan in the process.   
  
“You sure don’t look fine to me."   
  
“Well, I am." Buffy snapped back.   
  
“Fine. It’s your rib." Harmony shrugged.   
  
The two stood in the middle of the room, with Harmony eyeing the shorter blonde and Buffy nursing her sore ribcage.   
  
“Are you sure?" Harmony insisted one last time.   
  
Buffy looked up at her. She was genuinely worried. Who would have thought, Harmony could care for anyone other than herself.   
  
“I’m fine." Buffy replied calmly.   
  
Harmony’s eyes narrowed at her and she tilted her head.   
  
“What?" Buffy asked.   
  
“You’re afraid to go to the hospital."   
  
“No, I’m not!" Buffy’s answer came all too quickly.   
  
“Yes, you are."   
  
“No, I’m not. Now can we just go back to painting your room? And try not to fall on me again."   
  
“Whatever." Harmony huffed giving up.   
  
Chapter 7   
  
One hour later the two blondes were standing once again in the middle of the now completely pink room, with the exception of the small portions of wall covered by the furniture. Of course.   
  
“We did it." Harmony announced.   
  
“Yeah, and we only got our clothes completely ruined in the process." Buffy half-mocked with a smile as she looked down at her jeans and jumper.   
  
“It was worth it. Plus, this sweater is so last year." Harmony noted, looking down on herself.   
  
“Well, we better take a shower." Buffy proposed as she began walking out of the room.   
  
“You go first."   
  
Buffy froze.   
  
“Huh?" ‘Harmony is offering me to go take a shower first?   
  
“Yeah, I wanna stand here and watch the walls for a while."   
  
“O-Ok." Buffy hesitated but eventually left the room.   
  
After four hours the girls were bathed, dressed in their pyjamas and were sitting on the couch munching on Harmony’s chips as they watched a rented movie.   
  
“Oh, God I just love this movie." Harmony sighed, bringing the Kleenex to her nose and blowing it as the tears continued to fall.   
  
Buffy just looked at her sideways as Celine Dion’s voice began to soar while the credits rolled. After much convincing, Buffy had accepted to rent Titanic and actually watch it for the umpteenth time.   
  
“Jack so didn’t deserve to die." Harmony pouted before taking a hand full of chips and popping them into her mouth.   
  
Buffy shook her head and smiled. She tried to move only to realise that her legs had gone numb from sitting for three straight hours. Sighing, she settled down and waited for it to pass.   
  
“I mean, that fat cow could have just shared the stupid door. You know, ten minutes for one, ten minutes for the other. *sniff* Stupid fat cow. Poor Leo!" And a new onslaught of tears tumbled from her already bloodshot eyes.   
  
Buffy was about to comment something when a yawn interrupted her.   
  
“We better get to bed." Buffy realised, when she looked at her wristwatch and it read 1 am.   
  
“You’re right." Harmony sighed getting up and following the shorter blonde.   
  
When they reached the entrance to Harmony’s room, the strong scent of fresh paint assaulted their noses.   
  
“You can’t sleep here tonight. You’re gonna suffocate."   
  
“But I wanna sleep in my pink room." Harmony pouted.   
  
“You can sleep here tomorrow. Tonight you better bunk with me." The words were out of Buffy’s mouth before she could stop them.   
  
“Are you sure?"   
  
“Yeah. My bed’s pretty big. It’s queen-sized."   
  
“Ok." Harmony agreed a bit reluctantly as she stared back at the door to her bedroom.   
  
After brushing their teeth the two went into Buffy’s room.   
  
“Which side do you want?" Buffy asked when their reached her bed.   
  
“Whatever."   
  
“Well, I have classes early tomorrow morning so I better take this one and you take the side that is up against the wall, ok?"   
  
“Sure."   
  
The two climbed into bed and slid under the covers.   
  
“Goodnight." Buffy said.   
  
“Night."   
  
Ten minutes later, just as Buffy was about to fall asleep…   
  
“Buffy? Are you awake?"   
  
“Yeah…" She mumbled.   
  
“You’re not gay or anything, are you?"   
  
Buffy froze for a second and then a smile took over her lips.   
  
“No, Harmony. I’m not gay. You’re safe."   
  
“Good. Well, goodnight."   
  
“Goodnight." Buffy sighed.   
  
She would have never guessed it but Harmony could actually become someone she could stand and even get along with. She was actually sweet and-   
  
A strange sound coming from behind her cut off her thoughts. Buffy frowned and a second later the sound was heard again. This time it was perfectly recognisable.   
  
‘Great. She snores. Perfect.’ Buffy rolled her eyes and cursed the gods for one more sleepless night.   
  
~+~   
  
“So, are you nervous about tonight?" Willow asked from the other side of the line.   
  
“A bit." She admitted, smiling as she twirled the phone cord between her fingers.   
  
“When is he going to pick you up?"   
  
“In about an hour." Buffy tried to repress a giggle. She was just so nervous. It was her first official date since… She shook her head and pushed back the memory that made her stomach twist. “Are you and Tara coming? It’s about time I meet you’re mysterious roommate."   
  
There was a moment of silence from the other side.   
  
“Willow? You still there?"   
  
“Yeah, yeah. I’m here." Willow’s awkward voice was heard. “I was just… distracted."   
  
“Oh." Buffy frowned a bit, but dismissed the occurrence and repeated: “So are you?"   
  
“Am I what?" Willow still seemed a bit rattled.   
  
“Go to the party."   
  
“Oh. Right, the party. Um… N-no, I don’t think so. Tara’s got this major assignment to do for Monday."   
  
“But she’s got the whole weekend. Come on, she’s allowed to have some fun. It’s Friday. Plus, I’m really curious to meet her. Every time we go out for coffee she never comes with you."   
  
“Well… S-she’s busy, you know."   
  
“Okay. If you say so." Buffy agreed reluctantly. “I really wish you’d be there."   
  
“Yeah, me to."   
  
“So why don’t you come." Buffy proposed cheerfully.   
  
“I-I don’t know anyone there."   
  
“You know me."   
  
“You’ll be with Parker." Willow pointed out.   
  
“Yeah, but I can still be with you to." Buffy insisted.   
  
“Don’t worry about me. I can go to other parties."   
  
Buffy heard a sound in the background over the line.   
  
“Well, I better leave you to get dressed." Willow spoke.   
  
“Yeah, right. Bye, Willow."   
  
“Call me later to dish?"   
  
“You bet on it."   
  
“Night, Buffy."   
  
“Night."   
  
She set down the receiver and let out a deep sigh as her eyes drifted toward the series of outfits she had carefully lined up on the bed.   
  
~+~   
  
An hour and a half later the doorbell rang.   
  
“Oh, my God. He’s here." Buffy jumped and hopped out of her room, one shoe in hand the other on her left foot. “What do I do? Do I ask him up?"   
  
Scanning the living room she found Harmony’s wet towel flung over the armchair, a bunch of glasses on the stained coffee table and…   
  
‘Are those socks or underwear?’ Buffy wondered eyeing the mysterious item on the floor near the couch as she put her other shoe on and picked up her purse. ‘I don’t want to know.’ Buffy decided.   
  
“That’s it. The apartment tour is officially being postponed for another day."   
  
Glancing at the sink stoked up with dirty pots, pans and dishes, she added:   
  
“A day in which it doesn’t look like a bomb fell in our kitchen." Buffy muttered before pressing the button on the speaker: “I’m coming." She announced and waited for an answer.   
  
There was silence on the other side.   
  
“Hello? Parker? Are you-"   
  
RING!   
  
She jumped back when the doorbell rang again and she realised whoever was buzzing was on the other side of the door and not at the entrance of the building.   
  
RING!   
  
Before she could peek through the peephole the recognisable rattling of keys was heard and the door was open.   
  
“Buffy. You’re home. Why didn’t you answer?" Harmony asked walking into the apartment carrying two large plastic bags with Chinese symbols marked in red.   
  
‘Probably take-out. Figures.’ Buffy rolled her eyes inwardly as she watched her roommate place the bags on the counter before walking over to her bedroom.   
  
“I was getting dressed." Buffy replied as she was about to close the door but it came to an abrupt halt.   
  
With a frown she turned around and was greeted by the bleached blonde, clad in black from head to toe and sporting a long duster.   
  
“Forgot about me." Spike said stepping into the apartment.   
  
“How could I?" Buffy asked sarcastically between clenched teeth.   
  
He stood in front of her and eyed her from head to toe. Awkwardly, Buffy hesitated between covering herself and standing her ground. She opted for the latter and added a raised chin into the mix plus an arched eyebrow.   
  
“Going out, pet?" He asked, his eyes lingering on the cleavage the halter top had enhanced.   
  
“Yes." She replied sternly and a little annoyed, staring him down. “And please don’t call me that."   
  
His response was to simply continue to eye her and she eventually gave up and discretely crossed her arms over her chest. A smirk pulled his lips to one side as his gaze drifted from her now covered chest to her eyes.   
  
“Spike! Come here. You have to see my room." Harmony’s called from her bedroom.   
  
“Comin’, luv." He replied, his eyes lingering on Buffy for one last second before he turned and left.   
  
“Yes, please go, get freaked out and blinded and then leave." Buffy muttered quietly under her breath as she waited for a reaction.   
  
“So, what do you think?" She heard Harmony question from her bedroom.   
  
“Well, doesn’t much matter once the lights are down, now does it?" He practically purred and a high-pitch squeak was quickly preceded by the dull sound of two bodies falling onto a squeaking mattress.   
  
“Oh, for Christ sake!" Buffy gasped, rolling her eyes as Harmony’s giggles carried through the open door into the living room.   
  
Thankfully, there was a knock on the door at that exact moment.   
  
“Parker! My lifesaver." Buffy gasped.   
  
Turning around she opened the door.   
  
“Hey." He greeted.   
  
“Hey." Buffy replied shyly.   
  
“Hope you don’t mind. The door downstairs was left open so I came up."   
  
“No, i-it’s ok." She stuttered.   
  
“You look nice." Parker complimented.   
  
She instantly blushed and was about to reply when Harmony’s voice interrupted her:   
  
“Hi. Parker, right?"   
  
Parker’s gaze hovered just over Buffy’s shoulder as he nodded.   
  
Buffy turned around to find Harmony and Spike coming from the hall.   
  
“This is Spike." She introduced and the two men shook hands.   
  
Buffy frowned when she noted Spike’s slightly furrowed brow as he seemed to reluctantly shake Parker’s hand. Did they know each other?   
  
“So you guys going out? Where to?" Harmony asked.   
  
‘Somewhere far away where I don’t have to listen to you two boink like two bunnies in heat?’ Buffy’s mind offered, but her mouth settled for: “To a frat party."   
  
“Oh, the one on Alpha Delta Omega?"   
  
“Alpha Gamma Omega." Parker corrected.   
  
“Whatever." Harmony shrugged. “Well, have fun!" She smiled widely and waved.   
  
“We will." Buffy forced a grin on her lips.   
  
Glad to finally be leaving, she turned around, turned the knob and left the apartment closely followed by Parker.   
  
“Bye." Parker waved. “Nice to meet you."   
  
Spike’s reply was a simple nod as he continued to stare fixedly at the departing young man.   
  
“I guess we have the apartment all to ourselves." Harmony leered, wrapping her arms around Spike’s shoulders and pressing her body against his.   
  
But his attention seemed to be elsewhere; his eyes lingering on the now closed door.   
  
“Spikey?" Harmony questioned.   
  
“Huh?" He shook his head and looked down at the blonde hanging from his neck.   
  
“I said we now have the apartment all to ourselves, don’t we?"   
  
“Yeah, yeah we do." He replied as he tried to focus his attention on the blonde in front of him.   
  
“So, what are we gonna do?" She grinned mischievously up at him.   
  
~+~   
  
“Sorry about that." Buffy said as the two entered the car.   
  
“About what?" Parker asked.   
  
“The apartment was a mess and Harmony and boink-boy." At Parker’s frown she explained: “Spike."   
  
“Oh, it’s ok."   
  
“He’s just kind of a Neanderthal that way."   
  
Parker smiled.   
  
“Do you know him?" Buffy asked as the car started moving.   
  
“No. Why?" He answered.   
  
“He just looked at you like he was trying to place you, or something."   
  
“Well, I don’t remember seeing him. And I’m pretty sure I would, you know, with the bleached hair and the out-to-murder-you outfit." He retorted with a smile.   
  
“I guess so." She smiled back at him as they continued to drive away.   
  
~+~   
  
Within 10 minutes they were at the frat party.   
  
The house was packed with beer-loving men and clad-in-nothing women, with a live band playing in the background.   
  
“Wow, so this is what a frat party looks like." Buffy observed, scanning the crowd.   
  
“Cool, huh?" Parker asked, while Buffy’s eyes lingered for a moment on a major make-out scene performed by two girls while a small group of guys circled around them and cheered on, ignoring the boy passed out on the floor, in the middle of the living room.   
  
“Yeah." Buffy said a little hesitantly and Parker noticed.   
  
“If you don’t feel comfortable we can just leave." He offered with a sweet smile.   
  
“No, no, I’m fine." She insisted, putting on a wide grin.   
  
“Ok. Let me just go say hi to some of the guys and I’ll be right back. Ok?"   
  
“Ok." Buffy replied.   
  
“Be right back." He reassured her once more.   
  
Buffy stood back, observing the crowd. Five minutes later…   
  
“Hey. Sorry it took so long." Parker said a bit breathless as he pushed through the mob to reach her.   
  
“It’s ok."   
  
“There’s this quiet place over at the office, if you want to be more comfortable." Parker offered.   
  
“Ok." She agreed, letting him take her hand and lead her away.   
  
They reached a more secluded part of the house. It looked like a small library or an office, with two or three stands filled with books lining the walls. There were just a few people in the room, hanging around, talking.   
  
“There." He pointed toward an empty couch.   
  
They walked over and sat down on the leather.   
  
“Much better." Buffy said as the music from the other room drifted softly into the room making it possible to talk without shouting.   
  
“I thought you’d like it." Parker smiled. “So, tell me all about yourself, Buffy Summers." He started up the conversation.   
  
~+~   
  
An hour later they still sat in the same couch, deep in conversation.   
  
“It was really hard… losing my father." Parker spoke gravely. “And the fact that we had so many things to say to each other but never really did, just makes it harder, you know?"   
  
“I can’t even begin to imagine what it would be like losing a parent. I couldn’t even think about it all throughout the summer… because if I did I-I would just break down…" Buffy swallowed hard at the memory. “A-and I couldn’t. I had to be there… for Dawn." Her gaze dropped to an unfocussed spot on her lap.   
  
She closed her eyes when she felt his hand cup her cheek and leaned into his touch.   
  
“It’s ok, Buffy. Just let it all out."   
  
“I’m sorry." She sniffed, shaking her head lightly and brushing away the tears that threatened to fall. “I mean, you lost you’re father and I’m here-“   
  
“Shhh…" He soothed her. “Don’t worry about it." He insisted.   
  
She inhaled deeply and murmured:   
  
“Thanks."   
  
“You’re welcome." He whispered back.   
  
Slowly, they leaned closer to each other until their lips met and they kissed. His other hand came up so he was holding her face as the kiss grew deeper and more demanding. After a few seconds they parted, breathless.   
  
Buffy’s eyes were wide in a mixture of excitement and fear. ‘What are you doing? What are you doing?’ Her mind shouted at her. ‘This is not you. You don’t-‘   
  
“Do you wanna go somewhere? B-back to my place?" Parker’s question cut off her reasoning.   
  
‘No!’ The part of her brain that remembered the bruises from the past shouted at her. ‘You’re gonna get hurt again.’ But before she could process all the conflicting emotions going on in her mind she heard herself whisper:   
  
“Yes"   
  
Without another word, he took her by the hand. The two exited the secluded office and were making their way through the crowded living room when:   
  
“Buffy!"   
  
She froze when she recognised the voice. Instinctively, she turned around to meet an overly cheerful Harmony with the ever black-clad Spike at her side.   
  
“Harmony?" Buffy questioned with a frown.   
  
Chapter 8   
  
“Harmony? What are you doing here?" Buffy asked a bit irritated as the initial shock faded.   
  
“Spike wanted to-“ The ex-cheerleader started but was quickly cut off by the bleached Brit:   
  
“You’re mum called."   
  
“My mom?" Buffy frowned reaching for her purse. “Why would she call at the apartment if I have my cell phone-“ She stopped in mid sentence when she failed to find the device and looked up to find it dangling between Spike’s fingers. “Give me that." She mumbled, snatching it from his hand. “When did she call? What did she say? Is she ok?" Her mouth quickly fired the sequence of questions while her eyes and fingers remained focused on the cell phone as she punched in the keys.   
  
‘Is she gonna be ok? C-can it… come back?’ Her own voice echoed in her head while she continued to struggle with the phone; the music in the background going suddenly silent in the depths of her mind and being replaced by the doctor’s monotonic voice:   
  
‘With diseases like cancer we can never say there is a definite cure. We are very confident that we removed the entire area that was affected by the tumour with a relatively large safety area…’   
  
Buffy shook her head and forced herself out of her trance. Harmony’s distant voice filtered in along with the banging beat and sharp guitar strings:   
  
“I don’t know. Spike was the one who talked to her." She shouted her reply.   
  
Buffy’s eyes drifted from her cell phone to Spike. There was a questioning look on his face, made evident by the slight frown that marred his eyebrows.   
  
“She’s fine." His voice was calm and strangely reassuring. Maybe it was the way he tilted his head as he spoke, or the way his eyes slightly narrowed, she didn’t know, but it made her relax her shoulders and breathe out the air that seemed to be trapped in her lungs for the last minute. “She just wanted to know if you were coming home for the weekend." He continued.   
  
It was amazing how, even without shouting, his voice broke its way through the loud music and chatter that filled the room.   
  
Buffy simply nodded.   
  
“I better check. Just to make sure." She said before turning around to face Parker. “Be back in a minute."   
  
He nodded and watched her exiting the room. Parker’s eyes left her parting form as she was swallowed up by the crowd and returned to the blonde couple standing next to him. For a fleeting second his eyes met Spike’s, but the brown-haired boy quickly diverted his gaze to the cheerful girl at his side.   
  
The three stood in the middle of the room, awkwardly eyeing their surroundings.   
  
“So…" Harmony started, completely oblivious to the tension between the two men. “Decided on a major yet?"   
  
~+~   
  
“Hello? Mom? It’s me, Buffy. Are you ok? You called me." Buffy couldn’t stop the questions tumbling from her lips.   
  
“Buffy? Is that you? I can hardly hear you. Where are you?" Joyce’s voice was heard from the other side of the line.   
  
“I’m at a party." She explained kicking a pebble off the grass as she walked away from the loud building, even so, the music seemed to follow her. “You called?"   
  
“Yes. I just wanted to know if you were coming home this weekend."   
  
“Are you sure you’re ok?" Buffy insisted.   
  
“I’m fine, honey."   
  
“No headaches, dizziness, vomiting or nausea."   
  
“Sweetie, you’re sounding like Dr. Hamilton. I’m fine. Don’t worry." Joyce tried to reassure her daughter.   
  
After a brief pause Buffy finally agreed. She closed her eyes, running her hand over her face and sighing.   
  
“So why did you call?" She practically mumbled, letting the relief wash over her. God, she hated living in this uncertainty.   
  
“Are you coming home this weekend?" Mrs. Summers asked.   
  
“Um… probably not. I have an assignment for next week plus, I have to do some reading. I’m probably gonna stay here." Buffy said, leaning her head forward and rubbing the back of her neck.   
  
“Ok, then. Have fun at the party."   
  
“I will, mom. If anything happens, call me? Ok?"   
  
“I will. Don’t worry. Everything’s gonna be fine. You heard what Dr. Hamilton said when we did the last MRI."   
  
“I know, I know. I just… worry. That’s all." Buffy exhaled.   
  
“Well, don’t. And have fun. Ok?"   
  
“I will. Bye, mom."   
  
“Bye sweetie."   
  
As the electronic beeping replaced her mother’s voice, she let the hand that held the cell phone drop to her side. Once again she closed her eyes for a few seconds before she headed back inside.   
  
~+~   
  
The three continued to stand in the middle of the crowed room. Harmony chatted lively with an awkward Parker that tried hard to ignore the cold stares that Spike was throwing his way.   
  
“Hey." Buffy greeted half-heartedly.   
  
“Hey." Relief was evident in Parker’s tone as he quickly turned to face his date. “Everything ok?"   
  
“Everything’s fine." She nodded, forcing a smile onto her lips. “She just wanted to know if I was coming home for the weekend." She explained, glancing at Spike just long enough to catch his sympathetic gaze, before diverting her attention back to Parker.   
  
“So, do you still wanna go…" He tried but the look on her face told him there was little chance of anything happening that night.   
  
“I’m kinda tired." Was her weak reply.   
  
“Oh…" He mumbled disappointed. “Ok… If you’re tired."   
  
Out of the corner of her eye Buffy could have sworn boink-boy had actually smiled at her reply, but another quick glance his way caught him with a serious expression. Awkwardly, she looked away.   
  
“I really am." She continued. “I better go home."   
  
“Do you want me to take you?" Parker offered.   
  
“I can take you."   
  
All three stopped at turned to look at Spike.   
  
“I-I mean *we*…" His index finger travelled the distance between Harmony and himself a couple of times as he continued: “We can take you home. Since I’m dropping Harmony off and all."   
  
Buffy was about to open her mouth and reply when once again she was interrupted, this time by a very pissed Harmony:   
  
“Hey! I thought we were going to the party! You said you wanted to come to the party."   
  
“No, I didn’t." He denied, frowning.   
  
“Yes, you did. Right before Buffy’s cell phone rang you said it would be a great idea if we came over."   
  
Spike seemed to find no easy reply to that. His gaze met Parker’s and Buffy’s frowning ones before he grumbled between clenched teeth:   
  
“Shut up, Harm."   
  
“But-“ She began to whine.   
  
“Look, it’s ok. If you guys wanna stay I can take Buffy home."   
  
“Yes!"   
  
“No!"   
  
Harmony and Spike said in unison.   
  
Parker and Buffy’s frown deepened when the ex-cheerleader suddenly yelped and jumped up – an innocent look settling over Spike’s face as he uttered:   
  
“We’re going."   
  
An instant pout formed over Harmony’s mouth.   
  
“O-Ok then." Buffy stuttered before turning to Parker. “Well, I’ll be going then…" She trailed off as she stared up at him.   
  
A moment of silent drifted between them and Parker began to lean down, his lips finally grazing over Buffy’s. The kiss was fleeting, lasting a mere second.   
  
“Bye." She looked up at him from under heavy eyelids.   
  
“Bye." He breathed.   
  
“See you." Spike’s rough voice cut the moment as he inched Harmony forward toward the door, dragging Buffy along in front of them.   
  
Within seconds they were outside, Spike led the way, with the two girls tagging along.   
  
Buffy came to a halt when the Brit stopped next to a slightly dented black Desoto. She had half a mind to gasp: “I’m going in that? It’s not going to be able to drag us around the corner." but seeing as Spike was actually doing her a favour she bit her tongue and slipped into the backseat, remaining silent the entire drive home.   
  
~+~   
  
The door creaked a bit as it was flung open to let the three of them enter the apartment. Buffy was left to blindly pad the dark wall in search of the light switch as the blonde couple entered the darkened living room. She let out a silent sigh as the lights flickered on and flooded the space. Dispensing a quick glance at Spike and Harmony, who had settled on the couch, she crossed the living room.   
  
“Thanks for the ride. I’m going to bed." She mumbled tilting her head towards the corridor.   
  
“Night, Buffy." Harmony’s ever-cheerful voice reached Buffy as she walked down the hall.   
  
“Night." She replied before closing the bathroom door.   
  
She let her purse drop onto the floor and leaned in on the sink, both hands holding onto the white, cold surface before the right one reached for the faucet. She scooped up a considerate amount of water and splashed it onto her tired face. Looking up at the mirror, she simply stood there, watching as an infinite number of crystal droplets tumbled down the sides of her cheeks.   
  
She forced her eyes closed and shook her head slightly as she tried to push back the nightmarish images that seemed to haunt her since her mother’s diagnosis.   
  
“She’s fine now. Nothing’s going to happen." She whispered to herself before she continued with her nightly routine.   
  
When she was done washing up and brushing her teeth she opened the bathroom door, the purse dragging at her side when, instead of the empty hallway, she found her path blocked by a black-clad, bleached Brit.   
  
She jumped back a bit in surprise. They stood in silence for a few seconds before they started moving, unfortunately both chose the same path and ended up bumping into each other. They stopped and tried it once more, and again both picked the same side of the hall to make their way. After a few more awkward and ultimately failing attempts, they came to a frustrated halt.   
  
“Sorry." She mumbled, dropping her gaze to the floor.   
  
“I was… um… going to… um-“ He narrowed his eyes and cut-off his own mumbling with a curt: “Are you ok?"   
  
She looked up to find his head tilted sideways, his eyes slightly narrowed. For a second, she wondered if it was because of the sharp light that came from the bathroom behind her to sting his eyes or if it was simply of his usual mannerism.   
  
Shaking her head she pushed back the silly doubt and focused on his question. Shaking her head and dropping her gaze once again she replied:   
  
“I’m fine." A forced smile hovering over her lips as her eyes met his again. Seeing the doubt in his she insisted: “I’m fine."   
  
Without another word she sneaked past him to find the door to her bedroom.   
  
“Night." He whispered.   
  
She stopped, hand on the doorknob, and mumbled weakly: “Night." just before she slipped into her room.   
  
Spike stared at the closed door for a few seconds before making his way back to the living room. Silently, he dropped back into his place on the couch next to Harmony who quickly snuggled up against him. He watched the flickering images coming from the TV set, oblivious to the warm body wrapped around his.   
  
His wandering mind was snapped back to reality by one mischievous hand that had been slowly making its way up his thigh and had now settled over his crotch. His eyes drifted down his chest to find too large eyes glancing naughtily up at him.   
  
“Harm?" He sighed.   
  
“Yes?" She replied innocently as her hand slipped under the waistband of his jeans.   
  
“What are you doing?" the last part of the question came out a little weak, his eyes falling shut and his mouth forming a straight line as her fingers found their goal and seized it.   
  
“Nothing…" She mewled childlike as her hand started pumping him.   
  
“Harm… I don’t think this is a…" His nostrils flared for a second before he continued. “…good idea."   
  
“Why not?" She pouted stopping her ministrations, but her hand remaining warm, snuggled within the confines of his jeans.   
  
“Cause your roommate’s here."   
  
“So? We’ve done it with her here." She replied simply.   
  
Well, she did have a point, but somehow, it just seemed inappropriate.   
  
“Inappropriate? Since when do I think things are inappropriate? Especially when said thing is sex?" Spike’s mind shouted at him.   
  
“It’s just that she…" He let out a strangled moan when she began to move her hand again.   
  
He watched under hooded eyes as she rose on the couch, flinging one leg over his thighs and straddling him.   
  
“She what…?" She asked huskily as she gripped him harder, just the way she knew he liked it.   
  
With that, all doubts or questions disappeared from his mind, his hands immediately settle under her hips as he stood up and carried them both staggering into her bedroom.   
  
The bed creaked in protest at the sudden burden of their two bodies. The sound seemed to snap a state of hazy awareness in him and suddenly he was up again.   
  
“What is it, blondie-bear?" Harmony pouted from her spot alone on the bed.   
  
Spike’s mind seemed to struggle for a few seconds before he replied curtly:   
  
“Floor’s better."   
  
A mischievous smile took over the ex-cheerleader’s lips as she almost instantly dropped the floor and was quickly met by the hungry Brit.   
  
“Oh, God Spike!" She gasped loudly as he attacked her neck.   
  
He tried to ignore the slight irritation that her moan seemed to spawn inside of him. That was strange. It never annoyed him before. He shook his head and continued to trail kisses down her neck, opening her shirt in the process.   
  
“Spike, you’re so-“   
  
That did it! Before he knew it, his hand was covering her mouth, muffling her moans. He crawled back up her body and whispered in her ear.   
  
“No noises tonight."   
  
He watched as she frowned and could feel her pout against his hand.   
  
“Let’s try to be as quiet as a mouse, shall we?" He tried to sound naughty instead of pleading and it seemed to work as she nodded and pushed her lips together, struggling to smother the cries that formed in her throat as he continued his task.   
  
~+~   
  
“Oh, God Spike!"   
  
Buffy froze when she heard it.   
  
“Not tonight. Please, not tonight." She whispered as a mixture of frustration and anger started to build inside her.   
  
“Spike, you’re so-“   
  
“Can’t I have one measly night of decent sleep?" She growled, letting her head drop onto the pillow.   
  
She forced her eyes shut and waited for the already familiar opera of moans and groans to carry through the thin wall that separated the two rooms, but it never came.   
  
Frowning a bit, she opened her eyes and waited another couple of minutes. Satisfied that everything was completely quiet she closed her eyes again and fell asleep.   
  
Chapter 9   
  
She let out a soft groan when the sharp sunlight filtered thought the blinds to burn her closed eyes. It was just too early to get up, especially on a Saturday. Forcing an eyelid to open she glanced at her alarm clock. It read 10 am.   
  
“Just five more minutes." She thought to herself, letting her eyes close shut and turning on her side.   
  
But it was too late. The sun had filtered in and the annoying responsible part of her brain was already nagging her about her assigned reading for Monday. She tried to ignore it but when she felt the familiar anxiety building in her stomach and making it turn painfully she sighed and forced her eyes open.   
  
She lay on the bed for another couple of minutes before she pushed the warm comforter aside and flung her legs over the edge of the mattress. She hissed a bit when her bare feet touched the cold floor. Squinting, she scanned the area for her slippers and put them on.   
  
She dragged her feet across the room, automatically reaching for her towel as she made her way to the bathroom.   
  
She frowned bit when she heard water running in the bathroom.   
  
“That’s strange…Harmony’s up at this hour?" She wondered before pushing the door open as she spoke:   
  
“Harmony why are you- Ah!" She screeched jumping at the sight of the bleached Brit standing stark naked right in front of her.   
  
She froze in place for a few fragments of a second, her eyes wide and glassy instinctively scanning his naked form and inevitably fixing themselves over his crotch. She gulped unconsciously before her brain jump-started and the socially groomed part of it took over.   
  
“Oh, God, I-I’m so sorry, I-I didn’t- I’m-Oh, God!" She stuttered incoherently as her eyes squeezed tightly shut and shook her head as if trying to erase the recent image from her mind.   
  
As the picture of his nude body flashed behind her closed lids, she impulsively opened them again, regretting it instantly as she was once more met by him… still butt naked. She forced her eyes shut once more and *again* the mental picture was there and seemed to now be permanently burnt in her retina.   
  
The struggle lasted for a few more intensely awkward seconds until she finally settled for closed.   
  
“I-I’m really sorry." She stammered nervously as she started blindly patting the sink, trying to exit the room.   
  
“No worries, luv. I was just going in for a quick shower. Don’t mind if you wanna join in."   
  
She froze at his words -the embarrassment instantly being replaced by outrage.   
  
“What are you-“ She stopped what promised to be a long angered rambling when she made the mistake of opening her eyes.   
  
Her cheeks, which had quickly turned pink the moment she had entered the godforsaken bathroom, now gained a frightening shade of red, as mortification and anger mixed inside her.   
  
Awkwardly, she shook her head and closing her eyelids one last time, she growled as she blindly turned around to leave.   
  
“Guess I’m not gonna have company."   
  
She could actually hear the smirk in his voice as she stumbled her way out and slammed the door closed behind her.   
  
She burst into her bedroom, huffing and mumbling a series of colourful curses under her breath as she threw the towel onto her bed and started pacing around the centre of the room. She couldn’t figure out if she was mad because of the ever-present cockiness in his voice or because of her pathetic lack of a quick and witty comeback.   
  
“Hell, any comeback would’ve been good."   
  
Her hands ran wildly over her morning hair while she struggled to erase the image that insisted on flashing before her closed eyelids.   
  
“That little annoy-“   
  
‘Well, actually not that little.’ Her mind silently corrected.   
  
“Grr." She growled. “I have to get out of here." She said to herself, getting out of her pyjamas and into the first pair of jeans and sweater she could find.   
  
Within five minutes she was on her way out of her bedroom, her dishevelled hair wrapped up into an improvised ponytail. She was effectively storming her way across the corridor when she heard the bathroom door open. For an instant her mind debated between stopping and turning to face the bleached blonde or quickly making her way out of there, with her tail between her legs.   
  
“Pity you didn’t wanna join in, luv. It was fun." She heard him say.   
  
‘Well, so much for option number two,’ she thought as she turned on her heels to find him standing just outside the bathroom, his bleached hair wet and tussled, a white towel riding dangerously low on his narrow hips.   
  
She tried to ignore his state of undress, silently gulping before she started haughtily.   
  
“I really don’t know what your game is, but let me just be straight with you. I *do not* have, nor *will* I ever have any inclination whatsoever to join you in that-" She pointed at the bathroom as she spoke. “or any shower on the face of this planet. Not for make out sessions, not for groping fest, sex or whatever other twisted fantasies that over-bleached brain of yours might have." She paused. “I do not jump in the shower with my roommate’s boyfriends - just not my style. And even if I did… you’re not my type." She inhaled once she finished.   
  
‘Yay. You did it. No stuttering or gulping and with a minimal amount of bare-chest-oggling. Good for you.’ Her mind congratulated her.   
  
In the meantime, her heart skipped a couple of beats when she saw the smirk spread over his lips and he started to walk towards her until he stood almost toe-to-toe with her. He was so close Buffy was actually worried that he might get her clothes wet.   
  
“Got you all hot and bothered, haven’t I?" His tongue slid over his upper teeth, lingering on one sharp canine.   
  
Buffy opened her mouth to protest but he continued.   
  
“Don’t worry, Summers."   
  
Buffy suddenly frowned inwardly.   
  
‘He knows my surname? I never told him my surname. Maybe Harmony told him. Why are he and Harmony talking about me? And was that a stomach flop? Since when does my-‘ She stopped her hysterical train of thought when he continued to speak:   
  
“I wasn’t inviting you for a… what did you call it?" His eyebrows came together for a mocking frown. “Groping fest? That it?"   
  
She nodded unconsciously.   
  
“Well, you can breathe out now. I was just pulling your chain, wasn’t making any indecent proposal." He paused. “Believe me, when I do…" He leaned in closer and she could feel his breath on her flushed skin. “…you’ll know it, pet."   
  
And with that she was left standing in the middle of the corridor, frozen in place as he brushed past her and entered Harmony’s bedroom.   
  
~+~   
  
Buffy sat at one of the various table in the Espresso Pump, tapping her nails angrily onto the smooth surface while she stared into her cup of coffee.   
  
“Hey." Willow’s drowsy voice snapped her out of her thoughts and she looked up to find the redhead taking a seat opposite her. “What’s up?" She asked with a yawn, but before Buffy could reply she added: “Buffy, what’s wrong with your hair?"   
  
The blonde’s right hand self-consciously reached for an unruly string of hair and placed it behind her ear. “Didn’t shower."   
  
“Oh." Willow paused for a second before asking: “What did Harmony do this time?"   
  
“Not Harmony. Harmony’s evil boinking-machine."   
  
“Kept you up all night again, huh?" The redhead asked, muffling another yawn.   
  
“No, I was actually able to get some shuteye last night. I seriously thought that things were starting to look up, you know?" Willow nodded and Buffy continued sarcastically: “That was until I woke up today and decided to take a shower only to find boink-boy standing stark naked in the middle of my bathroom."   
  
“Stark naked as in-“   
  
“Comfortably wearing his birthday-suit." Buffy cut in.   
  
“He was completely naked?"   
  
“Yes, that’s the meaning of the expression ’wearing his birthday suit’." Buffy replied grumpily.   
  
“Sorry. It’s still a bit too early for my brain." Willow fought against the urge to stretch out.   
  
“Early? It’s eleven. You’re usually up and solving algorithms by nine." Buffy noted with a frown.   
  
“Yeah, I know. It’s just that since-“ Willow stopped herself for a second before continuing: “Since college my internal clock is kinda… broken."   
  
Buffy paused a little before leaning in on the table and looking her best friend in the eyes and asking   
  
“Willow? Are you ok? You’ve been strange lately."   
  
“S-strange? Me? Why would you think that? I-I’m fine. It’s just… college life. That’s all."   
  
The blonde seemed unconvinced.   
  
“So, what about naked boink-boy?" Willow said, trying to change the course of the conversation.   
  
“Oh, don’t remind me." Buffy growled, burying her face in her hands. “That man is the single, most excruciatingly annoying creature in the universe. I mean, there I was awkwardly trying to look away and he just stood there, like everything was just… peachy! And then he goes all like: ‘No worries, luv. I was just going in for a quick shower. Don’t mind if you wanna join in.’" Buffy sighed audibly and returned to her normal tone of voice as she growled: “Grrr! I hate him."   
  
“Oh, my God! He invited you for a shower?"   
  
“Yes!"   
  
“And you went?"   
  
“NO! Willow?!" Buffy cried out.   
  
“Sorry." The redhead mumbled up, sinking into her chair.   
  
“Ew! Just the thought of it makes me wanna hurl." Buffy shook her head. ‘Stupid flashy image. Go away!’ She mentally screamed.   
  
There was a moment of pause before Willow hesitantly leaned in and asked:   
  
“And?"   
  
Buffy frowned, not understanding her best friend’s question.   
  
Willow sighed at that and elaborated:   
  
“Are Harmony’s annoyingly orgasmic screams true?"   
  
The furrowed brows remained for another three second on Buffy’s face before her eyes went wide and her eyebrows rose high on her forehead.   
  
“Willow!" She scolded.   
  
“What?!" The redhead piped up innocently.   
  
“You’ve been spending time with Anya, haven’t you?"   
  
Willow shook her head and set her lips in a straight line while the blood rushed to her cheeks.   
  
“Actually, I can’t blame her this time. Haven’t seen her in weeks. I think Xander’s hiding her until she is properly socially groomed."   
  
The two girls laughed but, as Willow’s eyes remained fixed on Buffy, she was forced to mutter:   
  
“He’s not *that* big. He-he’s… um… above average."   
  
Willow remained silent, simply arching a perfect eyebrow in an effort to make her friend elaborate on the subject.   
  
“*Well* above average." Buffy caved in and then instantly shook her head. “God! I can’t believe I’m having this conversation."   
  
Willow giggled at that as she watched a flushed Buffy pick up the cup of coffee and mumbling: “But he’s still thorn at my side." before taking a sip.   
  
“A *well* above average thorn."   
  
“Willow!" Buffy cried out.   
  
~+~   
  
She prayed a silent prayer as she turned the key in the lock and pushed the door open to find the apartment swallowed in flickering darkness, the only light coming from the partially closed blinds and the small TV set.   
  
She felt hope rise in her chest. It wasn’t the first time Harmony left the house with the TV on. Slowly, she made her way to the living room and found the couch empty.   
  
Buffy let out a sigh of relief.   
  
‘Thank God! They’re out.’   
  
She just didn’t want to deal with facing the blonde duo.   
  
After a quick lunch with Willow, she had spent the rest of the day in the library, just to avoid coming home and finding… him.   
  
Letting her backpack drop along her arm from her shoulder to her hand, she reached for the remote and turned off the TV. The horizontal threads of light coming from the blinds of the two large windows were the only lighting in the room.   
  
“Hey, I was watching that!"   
  
“Ah!" Buffy yelped, jumping up, her heart racing as she turned around to see Spike coming from the corridor, holding a pillow against his chest.   
  
She was frozen in place, her eyes were wide, following him as he walked past her, snatching the remote from her hand and literally dropping his weight on the couch. It screeched under the sudden burden, but he ignored it turning the TV back on and staring at it intently.   
  
Buffy remained still for a few more seconds, waiting for her heart to slow down and for her mind to absorb what was happening.   
  
“W-what are you doing here?" Buffy mentally slapped her forehead at the stupidity of the question. Of course he was there, lately he was always there. “I mean, where’s Harmony?"   
  
“Went out to get us something to scoff." He replied, his eyes never leaving the TV set.   
  
She frowned, but seeing as he wasn’t looking at her she spoke:   
  
“And the translation to English would be?"   
  
“Eat, luv." He replied.   
  
“Don’t you have a home? Don’t they miss you there?" she questioned annoyed.   
  
This time he looked up at her; he narrowed his eyes, his tongue coming out to moisten his lips as he ignored her reply and asked: “Wanna join in?"   
  
“Ugh!" Buffy replied, her eyes closing; her nose instantly wrinkling up in disgust. “You’re revolting."   
  
“Maybe it’s just your mind that’s not all wholesome and clean. Ever think of that?" He rebutted raising his scarred eyebrow at her.   
  
“My mind is perfectly clean. I don’t know if I could say the same for yours, though. God knows what’s going on in there." She continued with her sickened expression.   
  
“Bet you’d like to know, wouldn’t you?" He said lasciviously.   
  
“No, thank you. I like sleeping at night. Not a fan of nightmares." She retorted, forcing a closed smile onto her lips before she turned on her heels and started to leave but stopped in her tracks when she heard him:   
  
“How’s Mr. Sensitivity?"   
  
With a frown, she turned around. He was still sprawled on the couch, bathed in the flickering light coming from the TV but his eyes were now focused on her.   
  
“Who?"   
  
“Lover boy." He explained.   
  
It took her a few seconds to comprehend what he meant.   
  
“Parker?"   
  
“Yeah, him." He sneered.   
  
“Not that that’s any of your business, but I wasn’t with him today." She replied.   
  
His eyes widened in ridicule.   
  
“Could’ve sworn you would’ve gone running back to good, old college boy after this morning." He narrowed his eyes: “Get that nice ‘I’m-in-control’ feeling back."   
  
“What are you talking about?" She asked, finally walking back into the living room to stand next to the TV set.   
  
“You know what I’m talking about, Summers."   
  
Buffy froze when she felt her stomach turn.   
  
‘Oh my God! Not the stomach-flopping again! Why does it keep doing that every time he says my name? Stupid stomach!’ She pouted inwardly before her attentions returned to the man practically lying on the couch.   
  
“No, actually I don’t. But then again, that wouldn’t be a surprise, seeing as you rarely make any sense." She retorted, raising both her eyebrows, setting her lips in a straight line and crossing her arms over her chest.   
  
His response was a smirk as he slowly sat up straight.   
  
“What happened to you, Summers?" He asked. Strangely enough, he seemed genuinely interested in the answer to the question.   
  
“What happened to me? Hmm… That’s kinda vague. Gonna have to elaborate on that one." She said sarcastically.   
  
“To make you so afraid." He explained, looking up at her with narrowed eyes, as if he was trying to read her.   
  
She didn’t like it. She didn’t like it one bit.   
  
“Afraid?" She forced out the word hidden in a chuckle. “I’m not afraid. Why would I be afraid?"   
  
“Right, that’s why you’re going out with pseudo Mr. Nice–guy." He contoured.   
  
“I happen to like run of the mill, *non-psychotic*, nice guys." She replied.   
  
“You like them because they’re safe."   
  
She was about to reply when he rose to his feet and walked around the table to stand before her. Looking down, he tilted his head, as if he had read something in the way she held herself, the way her arms tightened over her chest, maybe the hesitant expression in her eyes. She didn’t know but her entire body seemed to freeze up when he uttered:   
  
“Because you’ve been burnt."   
  
Chapter 10   
  
It took a few seconds for Buffy to snap out of her frozen state. When she did, she forced out a chuckle:   
  
“Boy, you really like the sound of your own voice, don’t you."   
  
She quickly made her way across the living room and into the kitchenette, trying to put as much distance between them as possible.   
  
Opening the top cupboards, she pretended to be busily looking for something while he was left standing by the TV set. His head dropped slightly forward and a smile spread over his lips while he shook his head.   
  
“If I’m wrong, why are you running away?" He replied turning to see her going through the fridge.   
  
At the accusation, Buffy immediately closed the refrigerator door and turned to look at him from across the room.   
  
“I’m not running away!" She denied vehemently.   
  
“Right, you just had a sudden craving to check what’s to eat." He mocked crossing the living room.   
  
Buffy let out a sigh of relief when he stopped at the counter and didn’t follow her into the kitchen. She watched as he crossed his arms over the white surface and leaned on it. He lasciviously ran his tongue over his teeth before biting into his lower lip and narrowing his eyes at her.   
  
“Arg!" Her face scrunched up for her growingly familiar look of disgust. “Do you think that’s at all appealing?"   
  
A scarred eyebrow rose on his forehead.   
  
“What is?"   
  
“The whole tongue thing." She wrinkled nose while her index finger dismissively pointed at his mouth. “Cause I gotta tell you? It’s so not." She widened her eyes for an instance as she walked back to the refrigerator, leaning in to inspect its contents once more.   
  
Buffy let out a sigh when she felt her empty stomach growl as she pushed the milk carton out of the way.   
  
‘I can’t believe it! There’s some juice left. Thank God the milk was hiding it! Juice has sugar in it, doesn’t it?’ She wondered.   
  
“Some women like it." His voice used haughtiness.   
  
“Right! *Some* women. A *very* select group, and considering Harmony as a specimen… well…" She smiled inwardly at her witty response while picking up the small glass container. She closed the refrigerator door and continued: “…it’s not a very impressive demographic, is-" She stopped in mid-sentence, backtracking as she turned around to find Spike’s face right in front of her.   
  
Somehow, he had managed to make his way unnoticed from the counter and into the kitchenette to stand right behind her.   
  
“My tongue bother you, Summers?" He asked, narrowing his eyes and staring down at her.   
  
“No." She practically gulped the answer as she backed up, feeling the cold refrigerator door against her back.   
  
She clutched the bottle of juice in her hand as she remained in place, her heart slamming in her chest while the distinct smell of leather and alcohol seemed to wrap itself around her.   
  
It had started as another successful tactic to push her buttons. Somehow, the sight of her confused and aggravated pleased him immensely. But the moment he stepped up behind her and she turned around, something hit him hard. He still managed to blurt out his clever ‘My tongue bother you’ line, his half smirk was still in place but inside him he felt something snap out of place. Or maybe into place, he still wasn’t sure of it yet. All he knew was that he was surrounded by the sweetest scent he could remember. He withheld a gasp when he felt her breath on his neck. It was warm and yet it caused his skin to prickle with goosebumps.   
  
They stood silent, staring at each other for a few seconds until she suddenly moved, walking around him and effectively snapping them out of their daze.   
  
He let his shoulders slouch; exhaled sharply and letting his eyes close for a second as he unconsciously tried to register the last of her scent.   
  
He turned around to find her leaning on the sink, her attentions completely focused on the small glass container in her hands.   
  
“What’s his name?"   
  
“Huh?" She asked without looking up from her task. She wasn’t ready to look him in the eye just yet, so she continued to struggle with the bottle.   
  
‘Stupid thing won’t open.’   
  
“The guy that hurt you."   
  
She froze at that.   
  
“Who says there’s a guy?" She questioned looking up at him.   
  
“There’s always a guy." He replied, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the refrigerator.   
  
“Well…" Her eyes returned to the bottle as she tried to turn the cap. “There’s none in this story, ok? Stupid bottle!" She protested bagging the container against the sink.   
  
“Here, gimme that." He outstretched his hand.   
  
“I can do it." She insisted, picking up a towel and using it to open the container.   
  
“You really should-“   
  
“I can do it!" She snapped looking up at him threateningly.   
  
“Fine." He gave up, putting up his hands in a sign of surrender while he watched her struggle with the bottle for another minute. After a while she gave up and handed it to him.   
  
“Here."   
  
His lips tugged at the side for a smile as he watched her pout angrily.   
  
With little effort he turned the cap and opened the bottle handing it to her.   
  
“Thanks." She said reluctantly.   
  
“You’re welcome, though I wouldn’t drink that if I were you."   
  
“Why not?" She asked, the tip of the bottle stopping an inch from her lips.   
  
“Read the label."   
  
Buffy frowned, turning to read the fine print.   
  
“Best before…" She trailed off when she read last Monday’s date. “You knew this was passed the expiration date and you didn’t tell me?"   
  
“You didn’t ask." He replied innocently.   
  
She growled inwardly, throwing the bottle in the garbage container.   
  
“I guess I’m gonna starve." She grumbled.   
  
“No, you’re not. Harmony’s bringing us Chinese food."   
  
“No thanks." She said, raising both eyebrows and turning to leave.   
  
“I would really like to know when you actually started believing that you’re better than other people."   
  
“What?" She asked turning around to face him. “I don’t think I’m better than anyone."   
  
“I beg to differ, your highness, but that little eyebrow-nose-twisting thing you just did? It’s called scorn." He replied angrily, pushing himself off the refrigerator to stand in front of her again.   
  
“What eyebrow-nose-twisting thing? I didn’t do any…" Her hand came to rest on her nose as she pouted slightly.   
  
“Oh, yes you did."   
  
“I did not."   
  
“Yes, you did."   
  
“I-“ she cut herself off. “Look, you know what? I really don’t feel like being dragged into another one of you twisted little mind games. I’m tired and I just want to take a shower and go to bed." She made a move to leave but found her path blocked by the leather-clad Brit.   
  
“Admit it. You think you’re better than other people."   
  
“I do not!" She denied vehemently.   
  
“Yes, you do."   
  
“Fine! Think whatever you want. You don’t even know me." She said, trying to get past him, but once again he stepped in front of her. “I’m really getting-“   
  
“His name."   
  
“What?"   
  
“What’s his name?"   
  
“What are you talking about?" Man, he really did have a way of jumping from one subject to the other without warning.   
  
“Prince charming who-done-you-wrong."   
  
She swallowed hard and her gaze turned cold.   
  
“It’s none of your business."   
  
“Oh, so there is a guy. What did he do? Cheat? That why you only go out with… what did you call them? ‘Run of the mill, *non-psychotic*, nice guys’? That it?" He was definitely pushing her pushing her buttons now. He could practically feel the urge she had to punch him.   
  
“What Angel and I had? You could even *begin* to grasp." She spat.   
  
“So it’s Angel. What kind of a ponce name is that?"   
  
“Better than Spike." She replied angrily.   
  
“Not likely." He mumbled.   
  
“Very likely for someone with an ounce of taste." She retorted.   
  
He chose to ignore her statement and asked:   
  
“So, what did Angel do to you?"   
  
“Hey, boink-boy!" She snapped. “If you don’t want to be singing soprano for the rest of your life, I’d suggest you move out of my way. Now."   
  
“You wouldn’t dare." He smirked at her and that seemed to be the last straw.   
  
Without warning her knee came up and slammed hard against his crotch, causing him to let out a painful shriek as he doubled over in pain. With her path clear, as he lay on the floor mumbling a series of colourful curses, she walked out of the kitchenette, across the living room and into her bedroom.   
  
With an angry growl she threw herself on the bed.   
  
‘God, the nerve of some people!’ She thought as her mind replayed the events that had just occurred.   
  
She waited until the anger subsided and she was finally able to breathe properly before she stood up again and walked around the room. Gradually, remorse started mixing in with the rage, soothing it and eventually making it disappear.   
  
“Oh, God. What if I broke it?" She finally thought as occasional muffled moans continued to carry through the door.   
  
She did another couple of full circles before she decided to go back into the living room and ascertain the damage she had caused. Silently, she pushed the door open and walked along the corridor. She found him lying sprawled on the couch, one arms flung over his face while the other held a bag of ice pressed against his crotch.   
  
She stood there, quietly hearing him moan out a couple of curses.   
  
“A-Are you ok?" She managed to say anxiously.   
  
The arm that covered his face moved out of the way and he glanced up at her to reveal blood-shot eyes.   
  
“Well, I don’t think I’m gonna sing soprano for the rest of my life."   
  
“Oh, God I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to- I-I’m so sorry." She stuttered nervously, quickly coming to kneel next to the couch. “I-I… We should get you to a hospital or something. Check if… You know. If… um…" Her head tilted towards his crotch. “If everything’s working… down there." She felt the blood rush to her cheeks.   
  
“Care to take it for a test drive?" He suggestively wiggled his eyebrows at her.   
  
“Arg! God, you can’t even quit the sexual innuendoes when you’re on the verge of castration, can you?" She asked disgusted.   
  
“It’s beyond my control." He replied.   
  
“Disgusting…" She mumbled standing up and turning to leave.   
  
“Ouch!" He cried out and in a flash she was by his side.   
  
“Are you ok?"   
  
“Now that you mention it… I think it could use a massage." He half growled.   
  
“Pig!"   
  
“It’s chow time!" Harmony’s cheerful voice came from the front door as she pushed it open and entered the apartment with two large plastic bags in each hand. “Spike? Oh, my God! What happened?"   
  
She rushed to kneel down on the floor in front of the couch while Buffy silently moved away.   
  
“Nothing. Just had an accident." Spike replied; his eyes fixed on Buffy.   
  
“What do you mean? How?"   
  
“I… um walked into one of the stools." Was the first excuse he could think of. Thankfully, the woman he was trying to convince wasn’t too bright.   
  
“Oh, you poor little thing." She mumbled child-like as she snuggled against his chest, while he looked over her blonde hair to find Buffy mouthing:   
  
‘Thank you.’   
  
‘You’re welcome.’ He mouthed back, just before she disappeared into the corridor and into her bedroom.   
  
~+~   
  
Buffy lay on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. Today had probably been one of the strangest days in her life. She let out a sigh and reached for the telephone, dialling the familiar number.   
  
“Hello? Dawn? It’s Buffy. Hey, how are you?"   
  
“Hey, Buffy."   
  
“I missed you last weekend. You were and Janice’s. Maybe you should stop sleeping over there all the time. You know you can’t leave mom alone. Not now."   
  
“Mom’s fine. You heard what the doctor said." Dawn replied.   
  
“You shouldn’t leave her alone like that anyway."   
  
“But she’s not even at home most of the time."   
  
“What do you mean?" Buffy frowned.   
  
“Well… she’s… out… you know." Dawn stuttered a bit.   
  
“No, I don’t know. What do you mean?"   
  
There was a silence on the other side of the line.   
  
“Dawn. Where’s mom?"   
  
“Um…" Dawn hesitated before settling for: “She’s out."   
  
“Out? What do you mean out? Oh, God!" Buffy fingers froze around the telephone cord. “Dawn, did something happen to mom? Dawn is she-“   
  
“Relax, will you? Mom’s fine. She’s… at work."   
  
“What do you mean at work? It’s Saturday night. What’s mom doing at the gallery at this hour?"   
  
“She just had some things to take care of."   
  
“Dawn? I’m your sister; I know when you’re lying."   
  
“Mom’s gonna kill me when she finds out I told you but… She’s been working a few extra hours a week. “   
  
“Why?" Buffy frowned as she resumed twirling the telephone cord.   
  
There was a long pause.   
  
“Dawn!"   
  
“Fine! Mom’s working to get some extra money to pay for the hospital bills. Apparently, the insurance she had didn’t cover all the medical stuff or something so we are going to have to pay for them. There, I said it." Dawn let out a long sigh. She was really in trouble now. "Buffy, are you there?"   
  
The silence dragged on for a few seconds before Buffy uttered:   
  
“I’m coming over."   
  
“What?! It’s ten o’clock at night. Buffy!"   
  
There was no answer but the busy signal from the other side of the line.   
  
“Great! Mom’s gonna kill me." Dawn muttered as she hung up the phone.   
  
Within three minutes Buffy was out of her bedroom and crossing the living room.   
  
“Where are you going?" Harmony’s voice caused her to stop in mid-stride.   
  
“Home." Buffy replied.   
  
“At this hour?" The ex-cheerleader wondered from her place on the couch next to Spike as she forked a large amount of sweet and sour pork into her mouth.   
  
“Yes." Buffy replied as she resumed walking.   
  
“You can’t go on the bus alone at this hour." Spike finally spoke up.   
  
“I’ll be fine." Buffy said as she searched for her keys on the kitchen counter.   
  
“I’ll drive you." Spike announced standing up and setting his carton box on the coffee table before reaching for his duster and putting it on.   
  
“No. I can take the bus. I’ll be fine."   
  
“I’ll drive you. I have to go anyway."   
  
Buffy flushed a bit when she noticed him limping a bit as he made his way towards her.   
  
“You’re going. I thought you were gonna stay over, so we could…" Harmony trailed off with a large lascivious grin.   
  
“Sorry, luv. I think the shop’s closed; at least for tonight." He replied before turning to Buffy. “Let’s go."   
  
She was still glued to the floor, holding the door open, stunned by his readiness to give her a ride.   
  
“Are you sure?" She asked as she watched him cross the front door.   
  
“I’m sure. Bye, Harm."   
  
Closing her hanging mouth, Buffy exited the apartment and followed him into the elevator.   
  
They walked in awkward silence to the car.   
  
The ride home seemed longer than usual as the only sounds filling the old car were the hard guitar cords coming from the radio and Buffy’s occasional directions.   
  
“Turn right here." Buffy instructed. “It’s that house." She pointed as the car came to a halt just in front of her driveway. “Well… thanks." She spoke awkwardly.   
  
“You’re welcome."   
  
Her hand lingered on the door.   
  
“I better…" She tilted her head toward her house.   
  
“Yeah." He nodded.   
  
She had just opened the door and was about to exit when she let herself drop back into the car seat.   
  
“I’m really sorry about earlier."   
  
“It’s ok, luv. Not the first and probably not the last time."   
  
“You’re limping. Are you sure you don’t want to go to the hospital to check."   
  
“I’ll be fine." He assured her.   
  
“Ok, if you say so." She said stepping out of the car. “Thanks again for the ride."   
  
He simply nodded.   
  
“Bye."   
  
“Night, Summers."   
  
She gulped and turned around, heading for her house. She walked up the front steps and pushed the key into the lock, turning it and pushing the door open. She glanced over her shoulder to find him still parked in her driveway, waiting for her to enter the house. She waved at him just before closing the door behind her.   
  
She couldn’t resisted, looking through the side window and watch him as he finally drove away.   
  
Chapter 11   
  
She turned on the couch, hugging the blanket closer to her curled up form as she rolled over. Her brows wrinkled in protest as suddenly sharp light filtered through her closed eyelids. She blinked a couple of times, running her hand over her face while she tried to focus her gaze on the shadowy shape knelt in front of her.   
  
“Buffy, honey? What are you doing home?"   
  
“Mom?"   
  
“Hey, honey." The soft voice whispered near her ear, before she felt warm lips press against her cheek.   
  
Buffy clumsily propped herself up on her elbows and looked up at the woman now sitting on the couch.   
  
“What are you doing here? I thought you weren’t coming home for the weekend." Joyce questioned while her eldest daughter sat up straight, her feet lingering on the couch.   
  
She pressed her lips together, opening and closing her dry mouth a couple of times before she spoke:   
  
“I called. You weren’t home." Pausing for a second, she stared at her mother before continuing: “Why didn’t you tell me you were working extra hours to pay for the hospital bills?"   
  
Joyce’s smile crumbled at that and she let out a sigh, diverting her eyes from her daughter before looking back up at her.   
  
“I didn’t want you to worry, honey."   
  
“You should have told me. I have the right to know these things. You can’t keep protecting me like that. I’m not a kid anymore." Buffy started, trying hard to keep her calm.   
  
Somehow, it always ended up here – her mom not trusting her with the truth, trying to shield her from reality no matter how many times she asked her not to.   
  
“We’ve talked about this before." She said pressing her fingers against the bridge of her nose as her eyes refused to adjust to the bright light.   
  
“I know. I’m sorry. But everything’s fine now."   
  
“Everything’s not fine, mom." Buffy snapped for a second, sighing loudly the next and taking a moment to control her growing anger. “It’s not fine." She continued with a softer tone. “You’re working God knows how many hours. You come home in the middle of the night - on a Saturday! I mean, look at the time." She squinted as she checked her wrist watch. “It’s 4 o’clock in the morning, mom. How did you get home, anyway?"   
  
“Someone from the gallery drove me home." Joyce explained.   
  
“You can’t keep doing this. After-“ She choked a bit as recent memories flooded her drowsy mind. “After what happened to you… you have to take it easy."   
  
“Buffy, the doctor said everything’s fine. You don’t have to worry."   
  
“Well, I do, alright?!" She raised her tone as the tears started to well up in her eyes. “I do! I worry all the time! Every time the phone rings, every time I come home, every time I walk through *that* door…" Her trembling index finger pointed towards the front door. Gradually, the anger faded from her voice, being replaced by despair and fear. “I think I’m gonna find you lying on this couch a-and…" She inhaled sharply as the words seemed to strangle her. “and-and this time I’m not gonna be able to help you."   
  
Finally, she allowed the tears to thread down her flushed cheeks; her eyebrows coming together over her glassy, bloodshot eyes.   
  
“Oh, honey. Nothing’s gonna happen." Joyce assured her soothingly, sliding along the couch to wrap her arms around Buffy’s shivering form. “Everything’s gonna be fine. I promise you."   
  
She remained cocooned in her mother’s embrace until the tears subsided. Slowly, she crawled from between her mother’s arms.   
  
“I’m moving back home tomorrow." She announced, sitting up straight once again and brushing the back of her hand over her right cheek.   
  
“What?" Joyce frowned.   
  
“I’m moving back. That way we can save the rent money."   
  
“Buffy, you don’t have to do that. I told you I can-“   
  
“No, mom. I’m not gonna have you working overtime just to keep me in that apartment." She insisted, shaking her head.   
  
“Honey, you don’t have to do that."   
  
“Yes, I do. And another thing – first thing Monday morning I’m gonna get a job. There’s no use in arguing. I’m not gonna change my mind." Buffy guaranteed. “I think I saw an ad at the Expresso Pump for a waitress."   
  
A soft smile spread over her mother’s lips, while her hand came to cup Buffy’s cheek.   
  
“You’re amazing."   
  
The young blonde couldn’t help but smile back through the quickly drying tears.   
  
“But you’re not moving back." Joyce finished.   
  
“Of course I am. I’ve-“   
  
“Well, I’m not letting you." Mrs. Summers said simply, standing up and walking towards the kitchen, leaving her astonished daughter sitting on the couch.   
  
“What do you mean you’re not letting me?"   
  
“I mean, I’m not letting you move in. You’re going to have to set up camp outside if you go through with this." Joyce said matter-of-factly from the kitchen.   
  
“Mom!" Buffy protested, finally following her mother. “I-“   
  
“Buffy, college isn’t just about memorizing books and theories. It’s about learning how to live on your own; how to make it on your own."   
  
“But, mom-“   
  
“There are not buts, young lady." Joyce cut her off. “I’m very happy and proud that you would sacrifice yourself in the name of our family, honey. I am. But you don’t have to move back in."   
  
“Mom, I’m not gonna let you keep working extra hours at the gallery. I’m not!" Buffy maintained.   
  
Joyce dropped her gaze to the floor and inhaled sharply, pausing for a few seconds while she considered the dilemma.   
  
“I think I have a solution." She finally spoke, looking up at her daughter. “You can get a job – one that *does not* interfere with you studies." Joyce pointed out. “It’ll actually be good for you." She pondered. “That way you can pay the apartment rent and I won’t have to work extra hours. How does that sound?" She offered.   
  
“Mom, it’d be easier if I also moved back in." Buffy tried one last time.   
  
“Nonsense."   
  
“Are you sure?"   
  
“Positive."   
  
“Cause I really wouldn’t mind moving back in, as long it means I’ll get away from Harmony." Buffy stepped back into her routine of complaining about her roommate.   
  
“What did she do this time?" Joyce asked rolling her eyes and smiling.   
  
“I am now convinced that she exists for the soul purpose of making my life a living hell." Buffy continued as she started going through the refrigerator’s contents. “Is there something to eat? I’m starving."   
  
~+~   
  
With a deep breath she tied the apron around her waist and walked through the swinging door. Instantly, the loud chattering of college students filled her ears.   
  
It was her fifth hour on the job and she already hated it. She barely had anytime to breathe, she was hungry, her feet were sore and she was tired of being yelled, shushed and actually, once, cursed at for mixing up the orders. When she actually managed to jot down the orders that were thrown at her at the speed of light, she somehow managed to forget the table they were meant for. She also discovered her complete inability to balance a tray and had spilled *very hot* drinks on herself, resulting in three different apron-changes.   
  
Over all, her life was hell on earth.   
  
“Here I go again." She said between clenched teeth.   
  
Not a second went by before a young blonde man sitting at a crowded table signalled her.   
  
‘Probably the football team.’ She thought, spotting two of the boys in uniform. “Plus half of the cheering squad. Great!" She muttered between clenched teeth when she noticed the two giggling girls that clung to the arms of three of the players.   
  
She quickly made her way towards the testosterone charged table.   
  
“Good afternoon. Welcome to the Expresso Pump. Can I take your order?" She managed to flawlessly say her pre-programmed line, while she took out her pen and pad from the front pocket of her apron.   
  
“Hi." The young man looked up at her and smiled.   
  
Thankfully, the rest of the team seemed to be unaware of her presence. She was so tired of being hit on by moronic jocks.   
  
“I’d like 1 coffee latte shake, 2 expressos, 1 large cappuccino skim milk, 2 large cappuccinos whole milk…"   
  
She scribbled furiously on her pad as the young man went on:   
  
“1 iced coffee, with sugar and 2 mocca coffee, 1 medium, 1 large." He put down the menu and looked up at Buffy.   
  
There was a look of complete despair on her face.   
  
“So…" She started nervously. “That’s 1 coffee latte shake, 2 expressos, 1 large… um…. Cappuccino… and…" She looked up from her pad and with a nervous smile blurted out apologetically: “Sorry, you kinda lost me at the first cappuccino."   
  
To her surprise, the blonde smiled understandingly.   
  
“New at the job?" He asked.   
  
“First day. That obvious?" She questioned.   
  
“Not too much."   
  
“Hey, Riley! Quit flirting with the waitress and just get our drinks." One of the jocks shouted grumpily, earning a series of grunt-like giggles from the other members of the team.   
  
“Don’t mind them. They’re just frustrated that they can’t drink any alcohol. We’ve got a game tomorrow."   
  
Buffy smiled.   
  
Picking up the menu he went through the order once again, this time at a slower pace.   
  
“Got that?"   
  
“Got it. I’ll be right back." Buffy grinned and turned on her heels, walking towards the bar.   
  
She repeated the order to the bartender and went back to her other tables.   
  
“Hey, Buffster."   
  
Buffy frowned at the familiar voice, turning to find Anya and Xander sitting at one of her tables.   
  
“Hey, guys. What are you doing here?" She asked with a huge smile, coming up to them.   
  
“Came to see how you were doing. Couldn’t miss your first day on the job, could I?" Xander replied.   
  
“Thanks."   
  
“Do you have time to sit down for a sec?"   
  
Buffy looked around and, noticing that the crowd had thinned down, she decided there was no harm in resting for a minute or two. Plus, her feet were killing her.   
  
“God, I’m beat." She sighed, dropping down on the chair next to Xander. “After I leave here I’m going straight to bed. I don’t care how bad I smell."   
  
“Well, you kinda smell like greasy coffee." Anya blurted out after sniffing the air.   
  
“Anya!"   
  
“What? She brought it up. I was just being honest." She said in her defence.   
  
In the meantime, Buffy ignored the mini-lover’s spout. She was focused on not falling asleep. It was only 7 pm but she was ready to climb into her bed and only wake up the next day. Good thing her shift would be over in one hour.   
  
“So, having a tough time?" Xander asked.   
  
“It’s hell." She said with forced cheeriness, but it lasted less than a second. “I mean, have you any idea how many types of coffee they have here?"   
  
“It’s a coffee shop." Anya pointed out. “They’re supposed to have different types of coffee."   
  
“Well, there are too many." Buffy pouted slouching back on the chair. “What happened to good old plain coffee? I can’t believe people can even tell them apart. It’s ridiculous."   
  
“Poor Buffster." Xander said sympathetically.   
  
Taking in a deep breath Buffy continued:   
  
“But, enough about me! It’ll only serve to depress me. How about you guys? Anything new?"   
  
“Xander and I went to a sex shop and bought-" Anya started to announce.   
  
“Anya!" Xander shouted, jolting upwards in his seat while the blood rushed to his cheeks. “Remember when we said that was our little secret?"   
  
“Sorry."   
  
Buffy managed to spread a smile over her lips. It was impressive just how odd and unaware of basic social conventions Anya was.   
  
“Have you seen Willow? She said she might swing by today or tomorrow."   
  
“We saw her Saturday at the Bronze." Xander explained.   
  
“Willow, at the Bronze? Alone?" Buffy wondered.   
  
“She was with a girl. But we didn’t get to met her. We barely had time to say high to Willow. The two were on their way out." Xander continued.   
  
“Yeah, right." Anya muttered, rolling her eyes.   
  
“What do you mean?" Buffy questioned the brunette.   
  
“Nothing." Anya replied innocently. “I guess they were in a hurry." She explained before turning to Xander and whined: “Can we go? We’ve seen her, she fine."   
  
“We just got here." Xander countered.   
  
“But you promised we’d use the riding gear and you’d wear the fuzzy little horse outfit tonight."   
  
“Oh, my God!" Xander sighed frustrated, dropping his head and covering his face with his hands.   
  
“I-I better get back to work." Buffy half-stuttered, standing up and picking up her tray. “I think one of my orders is ready. Thanks for dropping by though."   
  
“Ok, Buffy. See you." Xander said, getting up; his face still bright red as he followed Anya out of the coffee shop.   
  
“See you." She replied shaking her head and walking back to the bar.   
  
With a sigh she glanced over to the table crowded with jocks and started filling up her tray.   
  
Chapter 12   
  
She dragged her feet across the threshold, not bothering to turn on the light and moving about in the darkened living room. She let her backpack drop from her shoulder and threw it on the coffee table. Inhaling sharply, she sprawled on the couch, resting her forearm over her closed eyes.   
  
A frustrated moan escaped her parted lips when the familiar ring tone reached her ears. With some effort she stretched her arm and reached for her backpack, digging her ringing cell-phone out from under her books and her clothes.   
  
“Hello?" she practically groaned.   
  
“Buffy? It’s Parker."   
  
“Hey." She was so tired she didn’t even bother with hiding it from her tone.   
  
“Are you ok?"   
  
“Yeah, just kinda tired."   
  
“Are you sure?"   
  
“Uh-huh." She mumbled, fighting to keep her eyes open.   
  
“You don’t sound too good."   
  
“I know. I got a job waitressing at the Expresso Pump. I just got home."   
  
“Really? How long have you been working there?"   
  
“Since Monday." She replied after a small pause. It was getting harder by the minute to stay up.   
  
“Oh, so that’s why you haven’t answered my calls."   
  
There was no reply.   
  
“Buffy?" He called from the other side of the line.   
  
“Huh? What?" She was jolted back to reality. “Sorry, what did you say?"   
  
“I just figured that that’s why you haven’t answered any of my calls this week."   
  
“Oh, I’m sorry. It’s just been kinda hectic this week, with the new job and classes. I’m sorry." She apologized.   
  
“It’s ok. You’re forgiven." She heard him say sympathetically. “I was just calling to ask if you wanna go to this party tomorrow."   
  
“Party?" She mumbled sleepily.   
  
“Yeah. It’s sort of a pre-Halloween party."   
  
“Pre-Halloween party?"   
  
“I know." He giggled. “We make up the stupidest reasons to have a party, don’t we? So, are you coming?"   
  
“Um… I really don’t know. I’ve let these reading assignments pile up during the week. I should really focus on them." She said, trying to avoid the night out. She was just too tired to move, let alone dance.   
  
“Oh, come on. You owe me." He begged over the line.   
  
“I just…"   
  
“It’ll be fun. I promise and if you want to get home early I’ll totally understand. Just give it a chance. Please?" He continued.   
  
After a long pause she gave in.   
  
“Ok, I’ll go."   
  
“Great. I’ll pick you up at eight?" He asked.   
  
“Sure."   
  
“See you then."   
  
“Bye."   
  
“Goodnight."   
  
“Night." She replied, thankful to be hanging up.   
  
‘Finally. Sleep.’ Was the last thought to cross her mind.   
  
~+~   
  
They stumbled into the apartment between her hysterical laughs and his bored sighs. With her arms tangled around his neck, she clung to him, burying her face in the collar of his shirt while he was forced to practically drag her across the room. Without warning, she jumped up into his arms and wrapped her legs around his waist attacking his mouth. He didn’t protest; he was actually glad that her incessant giggling fit had come to a halt, or, at least, was now muffled by his lips.   
  
His hands came to grab her thighs and bring her closer to him while he staggered along until he hit the back of the couch. She broke off the kiss and trailed her lips down his neck, his head feel back for a second as he tried to block out her high-pitch chuckles.   
  
One of her hands was snaking under his shirt when he opened his eyes and saw a shadowy figure curled up on the couch.   
  
“Hey, Harm." He whispered.   
  
“What?" She mumbled against his collarbone, dragging her nose along his skin.   
  
“You’re roommate’s here." He said; his eyes fixed on the small form as the streams of light coming from the partially closed blinds allowed him to see her face more clearly.   
  
“So what? She’s probably asleep by now." Harmony said dismissively, continuing with her task.   
  
His hand grasped her wrist just as her fingers tried to slip inside his jeans.   
  
“No. I mean she’s right here." He hissed.   
  
Reluctantly, Harmony looked over her shoulder to find Buffy sleeping on the sofa. With a sigh, she jumped off the back of the couch and, grabbing his hand, proceeded to drag him towards the corridor that lead to the rooms.   
  
“You’re just gonna leave her there?" He said in a low voice, stopping in his tracks.   
  
“Yeah." Harmony replied with a shrug. “Let’s go." She said cheerfully, taking his hand in hers and making her way to her bedroom.   
  
She was forced to stop when he wouldn’t move.   
  
“You can’t leave her there."   
  
“Why not?" Harmony asked, starting to get frustrated with the conversation that was postponing their bedroom session.   
  
“She’ll… um… She’ll… It’s cold." He finally blurted with a frown.   
  
“So what?"   
  
“So…So she’ll catch a cold and…um…" He struggled for a quick answer as she looked at him accusingly. “And then you’ll get it and I don’t want you to get sick."   
  
‘Stroke of genius.’ Spike silently congratulated himself.   
  
“Oh, blondie bear." She said babyishly, wrapping her arms around his neck and attacking his lips. “You’re worried about me?" She asked a little too loudly.   
  
“Harmony, keep it down, will you?" He grumbled, pulling away from her.   
  
“You’re so sweet." She insisted in using that annoying tone.   
  
“Yeah, I’m a human-shaped sugary delight." He said dismissively, his eyes on the girl sleeping on the couch.   
  
She was fast asleep, her hands tucked under her head, her hair still tied in a binding ponytail, even though a few blonde strings managed to elude the elastic band to curl down her neck.   
  
“And I’m gonna lick you *all* up." She growled naughtily, running her tongue along the side of his face and snapping him out of his daze. “Well, let’s get her to bed." Harmony said, marching her way towards the couch.   
  
His hand was around her arm in a flash.   
  
“What are you doing?"   
  
“Waking her up." Harmony said the obvious.   
  
“You can’t wake her up."   
  
“Huh?"   
  
“Then she’ll start nagging and yapping on and on about the noise." He improvised.   
  
“Oh."   
  
“I better carry her into her bedroom." He suggested innocently.   
  
“Ok." She agreed before leaning in. “I’ll go take a shower. Maybe you can join me after?" She muttered mischievously into his ear between giggles before scampering off into the bathroom.   
  
He was left there in the living room with her, the occasional honk of a passing car being the only thing breaking the silence. The sound coming from the leather as he slipped his hands into the pockets of his duster and made his way around the coffee table filled the room. He squat down in front of her and a smile spread over his lips. Poor thing must have been exhausted juggling school and work.   
  
Before he knew it, he was brushing away one of the loose strings of hair that fell over her face. Her nose wrinkled a bit and her hand came up to scratch it for a second before hiding back under her cheek. The sound of water running shattered the moment and he went back to his assigned task.   
  
He carefully snaked his right hand under her neck, resting it against the back of her shoulder. He stopped when he saw her face scrunch up in protest at the imposition. After a few seconds, she relaxed against his arm and he slipped his other hand under her bare knees, lifting her up in one smooth motion. He tried to ignore the pair of tanned thighs that were revealed as the grey skirt hiked up and gathered around her hips.   
  
He mechanically walked the small distance to her bedroom door, pushing it open and entering.   
  
Cautiously, he placed her on the mattress, but instead of turning around and leaving, he found himself still crouched in front of her, somehow drawn to her misleading angelic form. She looked so soft and helpless, curled up on her side, still wearing her waitress uniform. There was no trace of the wild creature he had seen the first time they’d met, or of the no less fiery girl he had come to know and quip with afterwards.   
  
He wondered which side he liked best – the sharp, opinionated version, or the fragile, soft one he was presented with tonight.   
  
His eyes drifted up and down her body, unconsciously memorizing every slope and every peak. Inevitably, his fingers decided to join in, coming up to graze over her bare arm, down her side, across her hip and finally brushing along her right thigh.   
  
‘So soft.’   
  
His gaze snapped up to her face when she mumbled something and dragged her face over her pillow as she tried to find a more comfortable position. His hand abandoned her leg and recoiled back, resting on the mattress as he continued to stare intensely.   
  
The longer he stayed there, the harder it became to deny the strange effect her presence had on him.   
  
“Spike."   
  
Suddenly, he was up. He turned around to find a soaked Harmony standing at the foot of the door, wrapped in a towel.   
  
“There you are. I missed you in-“   
  
“Shh!" He hissed, quickly closing the distance between them, dragging her into the corridor and closing the door behind him.   
  
“-the shower. What took you so long?" She wondered in her usual babyish tone.   
  
Her arms were once again wrapped around his neck and she practically dangled off him.   
  
During the last few weeks, Harmony had become increasingly exasperating. Her voice was too shrilly and her conversation had grown so boring, it didn’t seem worth the trouble. Not even for sex!   
  
Gradually, even her figure, which was probably the only thing that had drawn him to her in the first place started to annoy him. Suddenly, her hair was too blonde, her shoulders too broad, her chest… God, even her breasts were too big. ‘When did breasts get to be too big?’ And the weirdest thing was the fact that he was beginning to think she was too tall. Since when didn’t he like tall women? Dru was tall and that was one of the things that he loved about her. He always hated the whole ‘petit’ thing. His women were supposed to be… well, women and not little girls.   
  
Point was that the woman that was now crawling over his body as he lay on her bed was definitely starting to get on his nerves. So why was he still with her? Instinctively, his eyes diverted to the wall that separated the two bedrooms. His gaze clung to the wall for a few seconds before he shook the frightening thought away.   
  
“Oh, Spike." Harmony’s moan brought him back to reality.   
  
“Um… Harm." He tried but she seemed too entertained with his bare chest to hear him.   
  
“Harm." He called out, holding her by her arms and eventually getting her attention.   
  
She looked up at him with large eyes.   
  
“Do you mind if we don’t… tonight?" He asked.   
  
“Why?" She whined with a frown.   
  
“I’m just too tired, I guess."   
  
‘Since when do I get too tired for sex?"   
  
“Since when do you get too tired for sex?" She sulked.   
  
“I just am." He said, helping her roll off him and sit up.   
  
“Are you ok?" He heard her ask. “You’re not sick or anything, are you?"   
  
“What? No. I just don’t feel like having sex."   
  
‘I can’t believe I just said that.’ He thought.   
  
“Oh." She moped.   
  
“Harm…" He started, but gave up, standing up. “I better go."   
  
“You’re not staying?" Harmony asked with a hopeful glint in her eyes.   
  
“I better get home." He replied walking out of the room. “Night, Harm."   
  
“Night." She mumbled just before she heard the front door open and close.   
  
~+~   
  
She sat on the couch, feet neatly tucked under her with a bowl of cornflakes in her hand while she watched the TV screen. Her spoon froze in the air, halfway to her mouth, when she saw Harmony enter the living room and cross it only to go back into her bedroom the next second. With a sigh, Buffy set the bowl down, slid her feet into her slippers and dragged them to Harmony’s bedroom. The door was open and she leaned her shoulder on the threshold and watched as her roommate walked around in circles in the middle the pink room.   
  
“Ok, what’s up?" Buffy asked, causing Harmony to snap her head around and look at her.   
  
“Nothing." She replied with little conviction.   
  
“You’ve gone around the living room and back here eight times in one hour. Something’s up."   
  
It wasn’t a very big surprise for Buffy how short lived Harmony’s initial reluctance was.   
  
“He doesn’t want me." She cried out, dramatically throwing herself on the bed and covering her head with her hands.   
  
“He who?"   
  
“Huh?" Harmony looked up, with growingly red eyes.   
  
“Who doesn’t want you?" Buffy explained, still hesitant to enter the frighteningly pink room.   
  
“Spiiiike." She sobbed, letting her head fall on the mattress again.   
  
“Oh." Buffy tried to sound sympathetic. “Why do you think that?"   
  
Harmony looked up before belching out: “Because he doesn’t wanna have sex with me anymooooore."   
  
“Oh." Buffy’s eyes widened.   
  
‘Maybe I shouldn’t get into this. The whole roommate bonding thing was a bad idea anyway.’ She decided, silently backtracking, but it was too late.   
  
“Last night… *hiccup* we came here and… *sob* we were about to get all hot and wild and…"   
  
Buffy couldn’t help cringing at the mental picture that popped into her head.   
  
“And then I decided to take a shower while he got you into your room."   
  
‘Oh. So that’s how I woke up in my bed. I knew I had fallen asleep on the couch.’ Buffy put an end to the doubt that had been nagging her all day. ‘Wait a second! Backtrack a bit. Boink-boy carried me into my room?!’   
  
In the meantime, Harmony continued to sob:   
  
“And then we were on the bed and I was doing that thing that he likes. You know, nibbling on his nipple."   
  
“No, I didn’t know that." Buffy said, pushing her lips together for a forced smile before muttering: “And I’m pretty sure I was a physiologically healthier human being without that bit of info."   
  
Harmony, however, ignored her.   
  
“And then he’s all – I don’t feel like it today. I’m tiiired." She continued.   
  
Buffy remained at the threshold, questioning what to do next. This conversation was definitely taking a very bad turn. Her mind raced in search for a sympathetic reply. After a few seconds all it came up with was:   
  
“Oh."   
  
“He’s never too tired for sex. And I mean NEVER." Harmony emphasized, widening her eyes at the last word and sitting up on the bed. “Even after the fifth time in a row, he’s still up for more. I’m the one who has to stop him cause I’m too sore. Remember last week, when I skipped the first couple classes?" She asked before answering herself: “I couldn’t walk. We tried this new position where he-"   
  
“Ok." Buffy raised her hand instantly. “Too much mentally scarring information there, Harmony."   
  
“Oh. Sorry." Harmony apologized. She paused for a second she wailed loudly: “He want me anymooooore."   
  
This time Buffy felt compelled to come closer. Awkwardly, she sat on the bed, her hand coming hesitantly to pat Harmony on the back.   
  
“There, there." She muttered.   
  
She was about to frown at her choice of words, when suddenly found herself lost in Harmony’s crushing embrace.   
  
“He doesn’t want me." The ex-cheerleader’s cry came out muffled against the fabric of Buffy’s t-shirt.   
  
In the meantime, Buffy snapped out of her initial shock and put her arms around her convulsing roommate.   
  
“Of course he wants you." She finally said.   
  
“No, he doesn’t." Harmony insisted.   
  
“Yes, he does. Maybe he’s just… tired."   
  
At that, Harmony looked up – dark tracks of mascara ran down her cheeks.   
  
“He’s *never* tired." Harmony assured her.   
  
“Well, maybe he’s having trouble… um… getting the machinery to work." Buffy suggested awkwardly.   
  
“Huh?"   
  
“You know. He’s having trouble saluting."   
  
The questioning frown remained on Harmony’s face.   
  
Buffy sighed. ‘So much for Xander’s euphemisms.’   
  
“Maybe he’s having trouble having an erection."   
  
“Oh!" Harmony muttered. After a few seconds, realisation seemed to set in and she raised both eyebrows. “Oh!"   
  
“Exactly. Maybe he’s having trouble and he’s just afraid to admit it."   
  
“That’s not it." Harmony said with a pout.   
  
“Why not?" Buffy frowned.   
  
“Trust me, Buffy. That’s not it." She insisted with a half-smile that made Buffy’s brow furrow even further. But she didn’t dare to ask any details. She was pretty sure Harmony would have no problems in providing vivid descriptions.   
  
“Well, how many times has this happened?"   
  
“Once." Harmony replied, her lower lips jutting out.   
  
“Once? He doesn’t want to have sex with you once and you start having a wailing fit?!" Buffy asked outraged.   
  
“Yes."   
  
“It was just once, Harmony. It’s normal not to want to have sex *all* the time." Buffy replied angrily, standing up.   
  
“Not with Spike. He never-“   
  
“He’s always up for it! I get it!" She cut her off. “He’s a sex-addict." Buffy said turning to leave.   
  
“It’s true." Harmony replied to the now empty room.   
  
“Well, it’s not normal." Buffy shouted from the corridor.   
  
“Of course it is." Harmony shouted back.   
  
Within seconds Buffy’s head popped into the room:   
  
“Trust me, Harmony. It isn’t."   
  
And then she was gone.   
  


To Be Continued


End file.
